


The Other Path

by CartoonJessie



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Dark Castle AU, F/M, Post-Episode: s01e12 Skin Deep, Rumbelle Secret Santa, Rumbelle Secret Santa 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-07 22:43:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5473235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonJessie/pseuds/CartoonJessie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prophecy had foretold Rumplestiltskin how to reunite with his son. He knew of the curse he had to cast, and who he had to get to cast it. But no one had foretold the arrival of his beautiful caretaker and the changes she would inspire in him. What if there was another path he could take to reunite with Baelfire? Would it lead to a happier future for all of them? – RSS Gift for Judymulder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [judymulder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/judymulder/gifts).



> Merry Christmas to Judymulder! I was your Rumbelle Secret Santa this year! It's been a great honor to work on your fic, but as I had announced in my anon messages, it got really hard for me to continue working on it with the attention it deserved. At the end of November, I had a kidney infection - terribly painful, let me tell you that - and I lost a few days of writing with that, but that wasn't so bad because I thought I'd have all of December still.  
> Then, at the beginning of December, my work announced to me that I would be laid off at the end of December. A lot of my spare time went to writing letters to apply for new jobs. Most of those letters were unsuccessful and truly depressing and tiring. I take about an hour to write each letter, and it's not very motivating to see that they're not even interested in me after all that effort. Not to mention that I'd rather spent that time writing on your fic.  
> But luckily the interim office called this week and told me they had arranged an interview for me, and I went for a few talks with a new company twice, and now I can start working for them tomorrow already!  
> I kind of hate having to switch jobs, because it will drain on my energy and I prefer to spend my evenings writing. I hope the new job will be fun though, so cross your fingers for me please, it might be very stressful instead. The good news is that I've got a new job already, with better wages!  
> And I did manage to finish your RSS story, though I kind of regret having to rush through the ending now. I do hope you enjoy it still!

Rumplestiltskin had often told her she was too curious for her own good. She had never argued with him about that.

As she pressed her ear against the keyhole, she closed her eyes, trying to hear what was being discussed in the other room.

Thing was, she had seen plenty of people enter the Dark Castle in order to deal with the Dark One, and often she had hidden in the shadows, as though she hadn’t even existed. Rumplestiltskin had told her he preferred it that way – especially after he had lost that gauntlet to Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella. She wasn’t just a servant, she was leverage, and she hated feeling that way. But the sad truth was that he was right – she was leverage to everyone who didn’t wish Rumplestiltskin a happy ending – and that was about everyone in the Enchanted Forest.

But today’s guest had been unusual. She had not been asked to remain in the shadows. Rumplestiltskin had described the man as ‘a friend from another world’ and had invited him to his laboratory, where Belle had even served the both of them some tea. The man had introduced himself as Jefferson and had placed a gentle kiss on her hand – and Belle would have been amused if she had not witnessed the deadly glare Rumplestiltskin had given his friend in that moment.

He had shooed her out the next moment.

She had left the room and closed the door behind her, but she had not left the hallway at all.

And now she was listening as hard as she could for what the two of them were discussing. She picked up a few words that might have held meaning.  _Wonderland. Hat. Queen. Gold._  But no more than that.

She gave up eventually, knowing that Rumplestiltskin would not appreciate her eavesdropping, and so instead she started dusting the armors and paintings in the hallway, thinking to herself that this was quite a long visit, until the door suddenly opened and Rumplestiltskin shouted her name.

“I’m right here!” she gasped, a little startled that he would call her so loudly.

He seemed a bit surprised to find her there and raised an eyebrow. “I expected you to be downstairs or in your library, reading,” he muttered dryly.

“The corridor required some dusting,” Belle said seriously, to which he raised his other eyebrow.

She narrowed her eyes at him. She knew what he was insinuating with that gaze, but she thought she was doing a good job at keeping the castle clean.

“Fine,” he muttered. “Bring us more tea. We’re out.”

Belle was surprised. She had prepared an entire pot for them. Seemed like they both liked their tea very much.

“Alright,” Belle said quickly. “I’ll get straight to it!”

She brought another pot, looked at the man in his brown coat with his brown messy hair and the giant black hat in his hands, and quickly averted her eyes when he winked at her, hurrying out of the room before Rumplestiltskin needed to dismiss her again.

Half an hour of dusting later, Belle could say she was completely done with the corridor, but she was reluctant to leave, knowing that Jefferson was still present. She wanted to knock on the door and ask if she was allowed to enter – to talk.

Gods, she missed talking – and being a part of something. Just listening would have been fine. She had always been a quiet participant in her father’s meetings too. Well, not always, but after being scolded a dozen times for speaking out of turn, she had learned to remain quiet among men. Even if she despised nothing more.

She just wanted to share in the company of other people. Was it so wrong for her to want that?

Eventually she sat down on the top of the stairs, waiting for the door to the laboratory to open. When it finally did, she heard Rumplestiltskin shout her name once more.

“I’m here!” she said eagerly, jumping up and rushing towards him, actually glad to be of service.

As he saw her eager expression, he was a little confused.

“You may clean up. Jefferson has gone.”

As Belle looked behind Rumplestiltskin into the room, she saw that this was true. The man was nowhere to be seen.

“How… how did he leave?” she asked as she stepped in, still looking around her. “Can he whisk away like you can?”

“Nonsense,” he replied as he sat himself behind his spinning wheel. “He doesn’t have magic.”

Belle tilted her head and put her hands in her sides as she looked at him. “So you whisked him out?”

“I did no such thing,” he replied with a giggle, amused to see his maid so confused.

She waited for him to continue with an explanation, and eventually he gave in and said: “His hat, dearie! He’s got a magical hat. Allows him to travel from world to world!”

Belle was intrigued to learn that. “So why did he come here?” Belle wondered.

“He needed gold. Had some unfinished business with the Queen of Wonderland.”

“And what did you ask in return?” Belle continued eagerly. She knew very well that his magic always came at a price.

“I still owed him some gold, actually,” he said casually. “He just came in to get me out of my debt.”

As the Dark One continued spinning, Belle cleaned up the tea pot and cups and headed back to the kitchen. She returned as soon as she could though, ready to dust his laboratory, and when he saw her enter, he immediately stopped his spinning.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, his voice displaying his annoyance.

“I’m going to dust this place,” she said defensively.

“You dusted this place four days ago!” he replied, a little outraged that she would not just leave him alone.

“Well…” She casually began to dust his potions rack. “At least I’ve got some company here.”

He sat there in stunned silence for a few moments.

Ever since her arrival, she had been curious about him. For that he could not blame her. After all, he had always been considered a mystery in the Enchanted Forest and she was a very inquisitive girl.

But now, it seemed to be about more than his secrets. She was here for her own well-being – for her own fight against loneliness – and he had not even assumed her to feel lonely at all. He had just assumed that her books were all she needed to have some peace of mind. Perhaps he had been mistaken about that after all.

“Are you…” Rumplestiltskin stopped for a moment, not sure whether it was wise to continue, but he could not resist asking her. “Are you afraid?”

Belle continued dusting as she replied: “Afraid? Of what?”

Rumplestiltskin shrugged. “Of the castle… of darkness… of me?”

She stopped her dusting immediately and turned towards him, causing him to gulp lightly as he feared he had been too considerate for a moment.

“No…” She shook her head. “Should I be?”

“Well, you must be afraid of something!” he pointed out.

She wasn’t sure why this was of interest to him at the moment, but she was willing to indulge him. Part of her was glad for the conversation – glad that he seemed to be interested in her well-being – if that was what he was.

“Well, to be honest…” She played with the feather duster in her hands, biting her lip as she thought about it. “I’m a little afraid of your enemies.”

As he tilted his head in a curious way, she continued.

“I mean… By being your maid – your ally – I am on your side. And now I am their enemy too. And that frightens me a little. I don’t want to be used as leverage again.”

He felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach.

“I know what this is about,” he said darkly. “You’re still afraid of what happened with the Queens of Darkness.” He spat out those last three words as though he was describing something foul.

Belle shot him an apologetic gaze. “Yeah. Can’t say I’m completely at ease around here anymore. I mean… Robin Hood broke in over a month ago. He wasn’t really an evil guy and had no ill will towards me, but fact is that he still got into the castle. And the Queens of Darkness just kidnapped me from the gardens – just after you had sent me there.” She sighed. “I try not to think about it too much, but it’s gotten to a point where I only feel safe when you’re in the room with me.”

That was alarming to say the least, and he once more gulped as he let those words sink in.

“I’m more dangerous than all of them combined,” he spat out, hoping she wasn’t thinking of hanging around him twenty-four-seven now.

“But at least I know you bear me no ill will.”

Once more she had effectively shut him up, and he turned his face away from her, gazing at the spinning wheel as he thought.

“There are plenty of traps in place around the castle to keep out unwanted visitors,” he muttered darkly. “I even improved them after Robin Hood’s interference. That is why the Queens of Darkness couldn’t just snatch you from the castle in your sleep!”

Belle did relax a little bit at that thought. She was safe inside the castle then. It was something, at least.

As she continued dusting the flasks of potion, she suddenly stopped as she saw one of the potions was missing from the rack.

“The green one is gone,” she muttered to herself, something which Rumplestiltskin overheard and caused him to look at her again.

When he saw what she was looking at, he stood up from the small stool and took large steps towards her, pushing her aside as he looked at his potions rack.

There had been a potion there indeed, but he couldn’t remember for the life of him when he had seen it last. Turning towards Belle, he took her by her arms, forcing her to look at him.

“Did you take it?” he demanded to know, but as he saw how confused she was as she shook her head, he immediately let go of her, not wishing to hurt her any further.

“What potion was it?” Belle asked, rubbing her arms as she could still feel his firm grip. She only wanted to help.

“Essence of being,” he muttered, trying to figure out why anyone would want to steal that potion.

“Essence of being?” Belle repeated, remembering the name from one of the potion books she had read without his knowing. “I know that one! It is used to check magical traps. By putting the potion on an item and tossing that item towards a magical trap, it can fool the trap into believing it is an actual being – an actual human – and thus one could learn what traps are set in place before exploring a wizard’s lair.”

Belle drew large eyes as she feared for a moment that someone was thinking of breaking into the Dark Castle – perhaps to use her as leverage again – and she wished she hadn’t known this.

“How do you know so much about that?” Rumplestiltskin wondered, a big frown on his face as he honestly had no idea that his maid was so knowledgeable about potions.

“I read it in one of your books,” she replied, hoping he would not be mad about that.

“One of the books from your library?” he asked strictly.

“No, I have no magic books,” she said quickly. “It was downstairs, in the cabinet in the dining room.”

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, testing her worth. “Do you also know what essence of reaving does?”

“Robs magical artifacts of their magical properties,” she replied, hardly needing a second to think about it.

“And essence of wings?”

“Gives the user a temporary ability to fly – at a cost.”

“What cost?” Rumplestiltskin immediately asked, drilling her.

“Hair loss.”

He giggled as she replied.

“And that, my dear, is why King George is bald!”

Belle’s eyes lit up as he told her that, and she could not help but giggle for a moment.

He glanced at her and noticed the light in her eyes, and the way her lips curled up so pleasantly, and for a moment he was lost in his thoughts. She was far more intelligent than he ever gave her credit for. And as for her beauty… Well, he hated to admit it, but every day she spent with him he was starting to doubt if anyone rivaled hers.

He forced himself to look away and tried to focus on his potions again, and he urged himself to remember when he had last seen the essence of being.

“Who would have taken this potion though,” he muttered darkly.

As she watched him frown, she wasn’t sure if it was a rhetorical question, and so she replied: “Could it have been Jefferson?”

Rumplestiltskin was about to dismiss her question. He had been in Jefferson’s presence the entire time, had kept his eye on the man during all of their banter, except for…

He slammed his hand on the table, so suddenly that Belle jumped, and said: “Curse him! He was walking around when I asked you to get us more tea. I shouldn’t have! I was careless!”

As anger welled up in him, he wanted to wipe the contents from his workbench, but before he had a chance to do so, he was suddenly stunned when he felt Belle grab a firm hold of his hand with both of her own.

“Rumplestiltskin!” She firmly called his name as she tried to force him to look at her. “Anger won’t bring back this essence of being. And there’s no use in beating yourself – or anyone else – up about this now. It has happened. Let’s see if we can get this potion back before it’s put to use!”

His chest was heaving from emotion. What on earth was happening these past months? This was the third incident since Belle had arrived, and he hadn’t just been robbed – he had been robbed by someone he had considered a friend! It had been robbed from right underneath his nose! Perhaps it hadn’t been about the gold after all.

He cried out in frustration, shaking Belle off his hand, not wanting her to touch him while he felt so violated already.

“That’s the thing!” he cried out. “He’s off to another world! We can’t follow him to Wonderland, and by the time he returns…”

His eyes grew wide as he realized something, and he headed to one of the walls, frantically searching for a book.

“His hat…” he muttered, pulling out a large tome with a red leather cover, and Belle was immediately by his side as he flipped through the pages. He stopped on the page that beheld all of the information he had gathered on the hatter’s portal-opening hat. Belle leaned closer to the page as she read what it was about, and Rumplestiltskin was fuming.

“He must have used the potion when he left through the hat, thus making the hat believe he was not the only person jumping through it. This means that he can now return from whatever world he went to with another passenger, without stranding anyone there!”

Belle was only just able to keep up with him, and kept quiet for a moment as she thought about it.

“Well I suppose we don’t have to be afraid about him using it to break into the castle without our knowing it, then,” she tried to lift his spirits.

Rumplestiltskin was still annoyed though, slamming the book shut again before he wiped it off the table, and it landed on the floor with a loud thud.

“Hey!” Belle protested in shock, not happy to see any of his equipment – least of all his books – smacked on the floor like that. “Calm down, please! It’s not the end of the world – it’s not the worst thing that could have happened!”

He turned on his heels in an instant, his gaze angry as he looked at her. “You will not dictate me on what is the worst thing that can happen or not! You will not dictate me on anything!”

As he looked into her eyes, he saw her gaze change into a more frightened one, and as she rubbed her arms subconsciously, he could remember how he had grabbed her so firmly a few moments before – how he must have hurt her in that brief moment he had thought she had been the thief – and slowly, but surely, he calmed down as he felt himself grow sorry for her.

He tried to repress his dark side, to fight against it in an order to apologize to her.

“Look, Belle…” he said in a gentler tone, though still a rough one for his doing. He kept quiet for a few more moments, arguing with himself about whether or not he should say it or not, but his conscience eventually won and he blurted out: “I’m sorry.”

She was still suspicious as he said those words, but when he eventually forced himself to look into her eyes, she could see that he was sincere, and she nodded gently.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked her, a little worried, and though she wanted to shake her head, she found that that would have been a lie.

“A little bit,” she replied instead.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, but this time his voice wasn’t as rough anymore, and as he raised his hands towards her, they glowed purple. “Will you allow me to heal you?”

She looked at him in hesitation. He was trying very hard.

“It’s not about the bruises,” she said softly. “Those things will heal soon enough on their own. It’s about trust. And I know you’re sorry, but you need to learn to get a grip on your temper! There are always going to be things in this world that make you angry, but your first response should not be to inflict pain on others!”

He was being scolded alright, even if her tone was gentle. He lowered his hands again and looked down in regret.

“I’m sorry,” he said for the third time now. “I don’t have a good control over myself when I’m angry.”

Belle sighed as she stepped closer and took his hands in hers, and he seemed surprised by the gesture, looking up at her with a bit of a dazed look.

“Look, he stole magic from you,” Belle summarized sternly. “Magic comes at a cost, and he did not pay for it. I get that. Perhaps we can make him pay at a later time. From how you describe the hat, then he is bound to return to the Enchanted Forest with another passenger. When he does, we can confront him about it.”

She was being logic itself and he narrowed his eyes as he listened to her. She was completely right. It was not yet too late to have him pay a price for stealing magic. But one thing did make him suspicious.

“We?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her, and he immediately saw how her self-certain front melted away and she looked at him with a hopeful gaze.

“Please?” she asked politely.

“Could be dangerous,” he said as though that finished that discussion.

“Staying here could be dangerous too,” Belle protested weakly, adding nervously: “Besides, I am sure I have much more to offer you than just being your caretaker.”

He could not help but lean in closer to her as he gazed into her eyes, trying to find the lie in her words. He found none, however, and Belle did not avert her eyes. Instead, she made herself a little taller.

"Like what?" he snapped at her, and he pulled his hands so suddenly from hers that she startled.   
"Like..." Though she had a hopeful gaze in her eyes at first, it changed into one of despair as she saw Rumplestiltskin's cold look.

He was already turning away from her, pretending to be far more interested in the potions rack than he was in her. It was a lie, of course. She was one of the most fascinating people he had met in his lifetime. But he would hate for her to know that. 

"Like... helping you..." she suggested weakly, and he chuckled.

"My dear, you already help me enough!" he cried out in a shrill voice. "Making my tea, doing my laundry, no further help is required!"

Belle felt like screaming. That was precisely the life she had always wanted to avoid, but now there was no escaping it. Unable to express her rage, she started crying instead, and as Rumplestiltskin became aware of the shaking of her shoulders by his side, he glanced at her, unable to believe what he saw. 

She hadn't cried in weeks - not since she had arrived - and he stared at her in mild shock. What had he done this time?

"Never mind," she tried to say in as calm a voice as possible, but she could not hide that she was in fact a blubbering mess, even as she tried to wipe her tears away and turned her back to him. "You'll never see me as anything but a maid."

Trying to keep her composure as much as possible, she headed out of the room, but her shoulders were still tense and shaking and once she entered the hallway, she sniffed and sobbed louder, not even stopping when she came to the library which she now considered to be her room. Sitting down, she tried to calm down but she was unable to do so as the same thoughts mauled around in her head.   
_You'll never be more than a maid. Forget about exploring the world. You’ll never make your dreams come true. You'll be happy if he ever lets you out in the garden again. Not to mention that you'll probably get kidnapped the moment you show your face outside of the Dark Castle. You will know nothing but this castle for the rest of your life._  

She couldn't shake off those destructive feelings, sobbing and crying just as loudly as she had done when she had tried to face the fact that she would never see her loved ones again. She was saying goodbye again, but this time it was to her freedom and dreams. 

Rumplestiltskin had been a little worried about his caretaker – and ‘little’ had been an understatement. He had not dared to follow her straight away, but only a few minutes later he had whisked to the entrance of her room, worried about Belle’s state of mind.

As he saw her lying on her chair, crying her heart out, he felt nothing but regret in his. But at least it was a reminder that he still had a heart – dark one or not. He was always afraid of losing face – afraid of appearing weak or inviting ridicule – but now he could not help but let down his mask. As he quietly stepped forward, he could only hope that she would not respond badly to this. He wasn’t used to calming down ladies in distress, and should this attempt fail, he would surely never ever attempt it again.

He stopped when he stood right beside her, hearing her sobbing louder than before, and he reached out his hand to touch her shoulder, but pulled back at the last moment, a look of regret in his eyes.

“Belle…” he said quietly, and as she heard his voice she froze in an instant.

While her shoulders were still tense, she turned her face towards him, her cheeks red as she looked at him as though she could not believe he was there.

Kneeling down by the side of her reading bench, he put his own head lower than hers – something he had never before done so graciously or willingly. She wasn’t sure what was happening and kept quiet because of that.

“I do see you as more than a maid,” he admitted, and she gulped as she looked at him, her expression wary but hopeful at the same time. He knew he had to continue now, and went on, a little afraid to look at her, and so instead he looked at his own knee. “You’re a hero – who saved your people. You face me – probably the most terrible monster in the Enchanted Forest – day in day out. You’re brave and intelligent, though be it a little too naïve for your own good…”

As he shyly glanced up at her, he could see a little smile in the corner of her mouth.

“We made a deal,” he reminded her, his voice a little sterner now. “That you would come with me – forever – and be my caretaker.”

She sighed, hanging her head in defeat. “I know. I shouldn’t have tried to break the deal.”

“Oh, but you weren’t breaking it!” Rumplestiltskin quickly interjected. “You were trying to modify it – and not even to your own advantage, but to mine!”

Belle narrowed her eyes, and he continued in his theatrical voice, all showman again.

“Why! A caretaker is not a completely trifle job, but it hardly requires intelligence or bravery! You were offering yourself as an assistant to me, and that, my dear, is far more useful!”

Belle’s eyes were alert as she looked at him and she held her breath, hoping that this meant he would take her up on her offer.

“Fact is, if I am to take you up on this offer, I will need to offer you something in return, or else the balance of the deal will be completely off!”

Belle wasn’t sure about that, and said warily: “But eh… If I become your assistant, then that also means that you have to teach me things – invest time in me… Isn’t the relationship between a student and a teacher already a give-and-take? Don’t you think the balance of that relationship would even itself out?”

Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes. “Unlikely! I am a far worse teacher than you imagine me to be!” He giggled in apprehension of his own little joke. “No, I think you should ask something in return.”

Belle kept quiet for a few moments, thinking about what she wanted, but for now, all she really wanted was to do more with the time she spent inside the Dark Castle. If she became an apprentice, then that would fill her biggest wish – for now.

“Could I just ask for something at a later time?” Belle asked softly. “Because I want to take you up on your offer, but I have no idea what favor to ask of you yet.”

He was a little reluctant, but nodded. His Belle wouldn’t ask for anything too extravagant. Her heart was too pure for that. She would request something honorable – something he could give her without blemishing his own soul, he was sure of it.

“Deal!” he said, stretching out his hand to her, and as she looked at it, she began to smile. She sat herself up straight on the reading bench again, and instead of taking his hand, she threw her hands around his neck – just like she had done when they had been done chasing Robin Hood – and squeezed him tightly between her arms.

Rumplestiltskin went into a mild state of panic before he realized she was hugging him, and as he turned his head towards her neck, he inhaled her scent, his entire body filling up with desire for the lady in his arms.

Apprentice. A nice title, indeed. But could he make it work when he did not feel as purely for her as a teacher should? Only time would tell.


	2. Chapter 2

The teachings did not begin straight away. No, unfortunately Belle had no such luck as the Dark One told her he needed a little bit more time to prepare instead. Two days after the announcement that he would take her on as his apprentice, he came to her room. Not with a knock or the clearing of his throat or anything of that sort, no. He was just there when she woke up, gazing out of the window of her tower, admiring the sunrise – or at least something he was able to see on the horizon – and as Belle stretched and yawned, she noticed the purple dress that hung over the table.

It was a little shorter than her blue one, and had pretty leather boots to go with it. Belle knew that she loved it as she lay eyes on it.

“It is good for a starting wizard or witch to wear purple. It is said to enhance the calm and determination that is required to use magic.”

He had not turned around as he spoke to her. As Belle looked at his back, she noticed that he was also wearing purple – a color she had not seen him in before.  As she slowly stood up, she became aware that she was still wearing her nightgown – a white shapeless chemise that reached to her ankles and might have very well been his at some point.

She wasn’t used to company before she had had a chance to wash up or brush her hair – or get dressed, for that matter. Not to mention that she was now in the company of a man – if she could consider Rumplestiltskin as such. She didn’t know whether to feel honored or violated, but as he continued gazing out the window, she figured he had no interest in looking at her while she undressed. He was simply ready to begin training her and waiting for her.

She took the purple leggings he had put ready for her and pulled them on underneath her nightgown. The boots were the next thing she put on. She could not help but glance at him every few seconds, but he did not turn around at all, and so she pulled off her nightgown and quickly changed into the new blouse and dress, lacing herself up with some difficulty as the laces were actually on the back of the dress and not on the front. As she was almost finished with it, she knew that some of the laces weren’t lining up properly, and she walked over to Rumplestiltskin, her hair still messy as she tapped his shoulder.

“Could you help me?”

She turned around at the same time he looked at her, pulling her hair to the side so he could check the laces on her back. He immediately saw where she had gone wrong and his fingers worked swiftly and elegantly as he fixed it.

“Not too tight?” he asked her as he pulled the laces, but she shook her head.

“No, tighter please.”

He obediently followed her instructions, lacing her in completely when he was done, and when she turned around, he could not help but look at her cleavage, the tight way in which the fabric covered her boobs a rather distracting thing to behold. He quickly glanced up, hoping she had not noticed that, and looked her in the eyes.

She was smiling at him. Actually smiling, like she knew something, and he hoped with all his heart that she truly had not seen what his eyes had been focused on before.

“You need to brush your hair,” he said strictly, as though it offended him that she had messy hair, and she chuckled as she stepped away from him and grabbed her brush. “And tie your hair back,” he muttered, summoning a purple ribbon in his hand as he offered it to her. “Wouldn’t want to be making a potion and one of your hairs falling in there.”

“Would that ruin the potion?” Belle asked as she took the ribbon and tied it around her hair.

“Almost certainly,” he replied dryly, his hands behind his back as he paced around the room. “This isn’t like cooking. It’s not like your vegetable soup where it’s different every time, just because you sometimes add a lot of carrots and other times only a few. Every ingredient matters. Also the unwanted ones. And there is no discussion to be had about the humidity or temperature that is required to prepare certain potions. Some potions should be made in winters, others in summers. Some in the middle of the night, others in daylight. Every little aspect of making a potion is important – the when, where, how, even the why!”

“The why?” Belle repeated softly, confused how that could matter.

“Especially the why!” he stressed seriously. “Potions do not allow themselves to be mass-produced. They need to be of need to the creator – to serve purpose. Making potions for the sake of making potions won’t always work. It can end up badly.”

Belle found that a strange belief. It sounded more like a superstition to her.

“You must eat!” Rumplestiltskin decided, clicking his heels together before he waved his hand and whisked the both of them to their living room. Belle intended to head into the kitchen and fetch him breakfast, but the next moment, the table was already set. Not for him, but for her, and she gazed at her plate with wide eyes as she saw the bacon and eggs, the sausages and tomatoes, the mushrooms and beans – all waiting for her.

She smiled warmly. “What do you expect me to do? Cut down a forest today?”

He giggled. “Joke all you want, dearie, but by the time I’m through with you, you’ll be begging me for another plate like this.”

Belle smiled, not taking him completely serious on that. Sure, he wasn’t going to be an easy teacher, but that wasn’t what she had expected. That still didn’t mean that he was going to tire her out like she was a slave – right?

And so she sat down and began to eat, finding it to be very much, but she told herself that it would be better if she ate it all. After all, she also had no intention of insulting Rumplestiltskin’s cooking skills. There was no need to either – the breakfast was absolutely delicious. Better than anything she could have prepared herself.

“Thank you,” she said when she was finished. “That was delightful. I am almost afraid to ask, but do you want me to prepare you something to eat as well? I doubt it would be as good as what you just gave me though.”

He giggled again, clearly flattered by her compliment. “It wouldn’t be,” he replied in a high voice. “But rest assured, I have not awoken you so early to cook me breakfast. I have awoken you to help me in another fashion. We are to go and prepare a potion. Not just any potion – a locator potion. With it, we will be able to track down Jefferson when he returns to the Enchanted Forest.”

Belle’s eyes lit up as she realized she was going to be a part of this quest, and she immediately sat a little straighter in her seat.

“It will be hard work. Constant stirring, quite a bit of preparation of the ingredients involved. Luckily you don’t have to kill a bat.”

Belle drew large eyes as he said that, and the next moment, he summoned a dead bat in his hands, showing her that he had not even been joking about that.

“I killed it already!” he continued eagerly, his manic giggle making her feel a little uncomfortable for a moment. Luckily she had a strong stomach, or this surprise wouldn’t have ended well.

“We will need his eyes later on,” he shared with her, the bat once more disappearing from his hands as he rubbed them against one another.

“Now then. We’ll be entering a cold environment and you’re to work with knives and extremely hot potions. Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself on your first day on the job!”

He summoned a pair of purple gloves for her, offering them to her as a gentleman would, and she smiled as she took them from him.   
“Thank you,” she said, immediately putting them on. They fit perfectly and Belle felt very lucky to have such a thoughtful and considerate master. At least up until this point.

He whisked them both away again, but this time they actually left the castle, and when the purple smoke cleared, Belle could see they were in a cave, illuminated by a few torches on the cave walls. The part of the cave where they were in was no bigger than her own library, and she could see a small tunnel leading into darkness. Other than that, the cave was empty.

Belle noticed it was cold – though it wasn’t freezing just yet – and it wasn’t particularly humid. Still, she felt a bit chilled, and as Rumplestiltskin saw how she rubbed her arms together, he summoned a cloak around her shoulder, causing her to smile at him.

He avoided that look though. He knew that looking at her would only distract him from what he was here for, and another few puffs of smoke appeared, summoning the table with ingredients and the cauldron itself. A flick of his wrist, and next thing Belle saw was the bright fire that began to burn under the cauldron. She was drawn closer to the spot, glad to pick up some of the warmth.

“Now that we are ready to begin, tell me again what we are making?”

“A locator potion!” she replied.

“And why?”

“To find Jefferson!”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “Good. Now don’t forget about that. Stay focused. The potion will sense what you want, and that is almost as important as the ingredients themselves.”

Belle nodded too, ready to begin, and as Rumplestiltskin led her to the table, she was given clear instructions on how to prepare all ingredients. She quite liked grinding leaves and other ingredients with the pestle and mortar. Her least favorite bit were the bat eyes.

“Since you don’t know magic, you’ll just need to cut them out,” Rumplestiltskin had told her, handing her a sharp scalpel, and she had gulped for a moment, not sure how to begin.

Then again, though she disliked the idea of cutting into something that had once been alive, she convinced herself that this would be worth it – and that she could do it, even if it was an unconventional practice for a lady.

As she was focused on cutting out the bat’s tiny little eyes, Rumplestiltskin asked in a casual tone: “So tell me, Belle, why are you even doing this?”

“To be more than a caretaker,” she replied honestly, still focusing on the bat, but as Rumplestiltskin suddenly slammed the table, she jumped up and she was glad she hadn’t cut herself in the process.

Looking at him, she feared for a moment he would be angry, but he didn’t really seem to be angry as much as annoyed.

“Focus, Belle! You are doing this to make a potion – a locator potion – for tracking Jefferson!”

“That too!” she quickly said.

“No, not ‘that too’ – because the potion will know. The potion will know if your heart isn’t fully in it – if you are thinking of more than the potion - if you are thinking of nothing but yourself! It is like a lover – and it wants your full and undivided attention!”

As he said these words, he even walked closer to her, but she did not back away, not even when he was almost standing against her, her cheeks flushing as he looked down into her eyes.

He had never been closer to her than this, and he whispered: “You must be loyal to the potion – and to nothing else. Think of it as the one thing in this world you must protect – the only responsibility you have for the remainder of your life. In making this potion, you decided to be born, and you are working towards your own… inevitable…” He leaned in even closer to her ear, his voice now so quiet that she was surprised she heard him at all. “…death.”

Belle felt a shudder down her spine, and the next moment Rumplestiltskin had stepped back again, and he moved to the other side of the table, not keeping his eyes off of what Belle was doing.

“If it helps…” he added. “…then you should voice out loud what you are doing and why you are doing it. It will help you fight distractions in your mind.”

Belle gulped, finding Rumplestiltskin the biggest distraction of them all. She could still remember how it had felt when he had stood so close to her – like she was on fire herself – like there could not be a sensation warmer than hugging him or holding him close – and even the thought of touching his lips – with her own – had crossed her mind.

She wasn’t focusing well at all.

Rumplestiltskin’s tip helped her though, and so she began to talk to herself, describing everything she was doing, and why she was doing it, and the Dark One looked at her with approval in his eyes.

She was a fast learner alright, and she even managed to cut the bat’s eyes from the carcass without too much difficulty, placing all the ingredients next to each other in separate bowls and vials.

When she was done, Rumplestiltskin summoned a potions book for her, where the instructions were clearly written down, but before he allowed her to begin, he asked her to read it aloud and ask him for help if she didn’t understand something.

As she started reading, Rumplestiltskin stood still behind the cauldron, his arms folded over one another as he stared into the cauldron, listening intently.

“Wait…” she suddenly said and a big frown appeared on her face. “To find Jefferson and make this locator potion, we must add the bat eyes to the middle of the cauldron, while stirring it simultaneously and then in a second we must add the crushed ivy leaves. But how will I do that? Those are three things and I have only two hands!”

Rumplestiltskin smiled, glad she was thinking things through. If only Regina had ever been as skeptical about the practical side of potion-making. It had taken her ages to learn that preparation was key – and he had saved her from many exploding cauldrons.

“You think you need three hands, but look at the bat eyes and ivy leaves…”

Belle looked at the two bowls, and her mouth dropped as she realized how to do it. “I must take the ingredients from the bowls before I put them in the potion… That way I can keep the bat eyes between my fingers, drop them in, and then open my hand to drop the rest.”

The Dark One felt a hint of pride as he looked at her, and he nodded before she repeated: “I must make this locator potion to find Jefferson…” and she continued reading the instructions.

When she was done reading, she asked: “The book fails to mention it, but how long will it take? It often says that the potion will change color while stirring it, but it does not say how long that takes.”

“How long do you think it will take?” he asked her in return, and she shrugged.

“Several hours at least. Maybe four?”

“We’ll see,” he replied mysteriously. “The potion will be ready when you are ready in your resolve to make it work. So keep on believing in the potion.”

“I believe in it,” she said breathlessly. “I believe it will be a beautiful locator potion and that it will find Jefferson.”

“Beautiful?” Rumplestiltskin repeated with a giggle. He had certainly never heard anyone describe a potion as beautiful before.

“Yes, beautiful!” she insisted, her gaze fierce as she looked at him, and he had never seen anyone as convinced of something before. She had to have a strong heart, to believe so strongly in something.

When he had helped Regina in making the locator potion, the woman had needed over twenty hours to make it – counting from the moment she had added the first ingredient to the cauldron until she had bottled it. He was curious if Belle could do better. He certainly hoped for it. If he had been able to place a bet on it, he would have. The faith he had in her was unrivaled.

She started by adding a bottle of cold water to the already hot cauldron, jumping back a little when the water evaporated into smoke with a loud hissing noise, and Rumplestiltskin’s voice was strict: “Don’t be scared. The potion knows what it wants.”

Belle gulped, trying to get over the fear of burning herself. It was a possibility, but she could not think of that.

“I must make this locator potion to find Jefferson,” she repeated quietly, continuing with the next ingredients, surprised that when she added some jester berries to the cauldron, the water seemed to reappear, and she continued making the potion with more confidence.

After she had added the bat eyes and ivy leaves, she needed to wait until the potion turned from gray to green, stirring it all the while. This was the most tiring part of the preparation, and Rumplestiltskin leaned against the table as he watched her, stirring so often that she almost seemed to get lost in thoughts, but every time she almost did, he heard her say: “I must make this locator potion to find Jefferson.”

She was trying her hardest to focus, but her back and shoulders were starting to ache. Rumplestiltskin saw it, for she was shifting uneasily where she stood. Part of him wanted to take over from her for a moment, but each time she seemed to be in a bit of pain, she repeated her little mantra, and she was so completely focused on finishing the potion that he did not dare disturb her.

Another thing which he noticed, was that Belle had already memorized the recipe after reading the page once. She hardly ever read back on how to continue, as though it was no problem at all. She was clever alright, and incredibly beautiful.

When he saw her back straighten and her smile widen, he got a little lost in the moment, completely in awe of all that she was as she added the next ingredient, no longer repeating her little mantra as she was starting to feel as though she and the potion were one.

Rumplestiltskin could hardly believe what he was seeing. She was continuing so easily with the preparation, and by the time the potion had finished, she scooped up one spoonful and put it in a vial, and she smiled as she said: “Thank you – I can now use this locator potion to find Jefferson.”

As though the cauldron had heard, the rest of the contents of the potion completely disappeared, leaving a big cloud of steam in the room, and by the time Belle was able to see Rumplestiltskin again, she saw how he was smiling at her.

“Seventeen hours. Not bad!”

He opened his hand, and she proudly handed him the potion.

“That was incredible!” she said happily, and part of him wanted to agree –  _she_  was incredible. “I didn’t know potions were made in this way! Just the thought that I made an actual magical potion – it’s almost unbelievable!”

He smiled at her, unwilling to break her spirit. What she had accomplished was amazing. His happy thoughts were disturbed when she suddenly threw her arms around him, apparently asking for a hug, and he tensed up once more, not knowing how to respond.

As she noticed, she took a step back, her look a little disappointed because he had not hugged her back.

“I must thank you,” she said quietly. “You are a good teacher. And thanks for making me breakfast this morning. I don’t think I could have done this without it. At a certain moment I thought my body was about to give up on me.”

“I noticed,” he admitted. “I saw you struggling to stand still and continue stirring.”

“It felt like my body was breaking in a way, like I could do it no more, like I was stirring a spoon that weighed a ton through a bucket of sand. But I tried believing a little harder, and it worked! I am sure that if I ever need to make this potion again, I can do it much faster now!”

Rumplestiltskin smiled, glad to hear she had overcome her physical discomfort. He himself never had to bother with that, being the Dark One. His stamina was unrivaled. But as she said she could do it much faster, he felt like he needed to remind her who was boss.

“Well, if you ever manage to prepare it in under ten hours, then you would have my record beat. Though I doubt that’s likely to happen. As the Dark One, I have a natural link with magic. Whereas for you, it is a struggle to forget all that makes you human – all that aches and troubles you. I doubt you’ll ever be able to surpass me.”

Belle thought that she had done very well then.

“Well. As competitive as I am, you are still my master, and the Dark One. I have no intention of being better than you, but I do hope to be a valuable asset and assistant.”

She said this so hopefully that he could not help but smile. She looked tired though. It was already morning again, and she deserved sleep.

“Come, let’s go back home.”

As he offered her his hand, she gladly took it, squeezing it while he whisked them back. His Belle had managed to surprise him again that day. He was curious to discover her limits. It was certainly an interesting path they had chosen to walk now.


	3. Chapter 3

As he whisked the both of them back to her library, she stretched. The warmth of the room was delightful, and she closed her eyes already, even while she was just standing in front of the window, the first light of day warming her skin.

Rumplestiltskin was unable to keep his eyes off her, finding her so incredibly beautiful and amazing.

“I’m tired, yet happy,” she said softly, smiling as she looked at him for a brief moment. “Are you?”

“Tired?” he repeated, shaking his head. “Never.”

“Happy?” she asked, and this time he did hesitate.

He wanted to reply that the Dark One was never happy – or lie that he was always happy - and he certainly could not remember the last time he had felt this way – but seeing her blossom was stirring feelings in him he had thought he had long forgotten.

“Yes,” he said quietly, his voice deeper than it usually was, and Belle’s eyes lingered on his lips for a moment, finding this new voice strange, but appealing at the same time.

“I’m glad,” she whispered. “I want you to be happy.”

His heart nearly burst as she told him that – no lies or malice in her voice – just complete honesty in her tone, her heart bared on her sleeve. It nearly bared his heart as well, and in an instinct he reached for her hand, holding it in his while she held her breath.

He didn’t really know what to do with her hand now that he held it though. Perhaps his instinct had been to kiss it before, but now that he saw the way she was looking at him, expecting action from him, he felt paralyzed. Did he know what to do? He felt like he didn’t.

It came as a surprise to him when Belle suddenly lifted both their hands between them, and placed a gentle kiss on his knuckles.

His fingers twitched a little at the soft sensation, and he almost looked at Belle in terror, not understanding what she was doing. She picked up on the confusion on his face, and softly said: “Thank you… my master.”

“You… you’re welcome,” he stammered, fearing his face was very red – though that was only the way it felt, for his scaly skin tone did not change.

For a moment he feared she would hug him again, just because of the warm way she looked at him, but instead she gently let go of his hand and turned around, taking off her cloak and hanging it over the table. Then she once more moved her hair to the side as she revealed the laces of her dress to him.

“Will you untie me?” she asked, standing a few feet away from him, and he found himself to be her willing slave as he stepped closer, his feet dragging him to where he needed to be. Licking his lips, he loosened the corset of her dress, and he could see the muscles in her shoulders relax as the piece of clothing came undone.

“Thank you,” she said warmly, walking away from him to change back into her nightgown – the old chemise that had once been his.

He had never really bothered to give her new belongings. Not much more than her blue dress, and now her purple one, as well as some underwear. Perhaps he had to change that. She was certainly proving to be more than a caretaker to him.

He was still gazing at her back as she let the dress drop down to her feet and she stepped out of it, her back bare and her bum and legs only covered by the purple tights and boots she wore underneath. He could not look away, too mesmerized by her soft skin and round curves to remind himself to turn around. As she dropped the night shirt over her head, he gulped, and he watched how she held onto the table as she tried to take off her boots, her muscles sore from the day’s straining work.

She only succeeded rather slowly in taking off her boots and tights, and when she turned around and saw Rumplestiltskin gaping at her with his mouth slightly open, she was too tired to be bothered by it. If anything, she was amused.

She headed to the small reading bench she used as a bed and lay down on it, rearranging the pillow he had given her in her first week, and as he watched her he realized she didn’t look to be that particularly comfortable on the bench. It wasn’t a comfortable bed – not like the one he had in his room.

Once more he felt his legs drag him to where he wanted to be – even if his mind had not given any approval yet – and he stood beside her, looking at her as she lay down and he gazed upon her, saying: “This reading bench isn’t very comfortable, is it?”

“It usually is,” she replied honestly, her voice tired. “My body is just a little sore, that’s all. It feels harder today.”

Without asking her for her permission, he touched her shoulder and the next moment he had whisked both of them away. Belle was still lying down and he was still standing next to her, but this time the location was quite different. The library was gone, and instead they were in a dark room, the curtains closed while only a few candles burned beside the large four-poster bed in which she lay. Everything seemed to be black, save for the sheets, pillows and curtains, which were red. The wood was made of the darkest brown and the walls were decorated with dark tapestries, patterns of animals and plants in other gray colors, and Belle looked around her in wonder.

“You should sleep in a proper bed,” he explained as he saw her confused expression.

“Yours?” Belle asked, not sure how to feel about this. She was tired. She hardly had the energy to think critically about what was going on.

“Mine,” he replied. “Though that could be up for debate. I never sleep.”

She looked at him with wide eyes, tired but eager to hear more.

“You should move under the sheets,” he told her, lifting the covers, and she obediently did as he told her, resting her head in the pillow while he tucked her in. The last time she had been tucked in, had been when she had been a child, and for some reason she felt like begging for the things a parent would give – a kiss on the forehead – a bedtime story – a promise of something fun for the next day. She kept quiet though, knowing that Rumplestiltskin wasn’t a parent – though she suddenly doubted that when he wiped some hairs from her face. He was far more caring than she ever would have thought a Dark One to be able to be.

“Sweet dreams,” he told her gently, and she suddenly found her hand reaching for his.

“Will you stay?” she asked hopefully, her eyes still wide open as she looked at him.

For a moment he considered. He hadn’t slept in years. Hadn’t rested in just as long. All he did was spin when he was bored. He could even remember moments when he had spent weeks in a row spinning – with no end in sight. All because nothing else had occupied his time. There was definitely allure in staying with her – watching her – like he had watched her a little while the night before. It had been a peaceful sight – a beautiful one – even better than watching straw turn into gold.

“You don’t have anything better to do, do you?” she asked, moving to the middle of the bed so he could easily sit beside her.

He wanted to tell a lie, but instead he shook his head – as honest with her as she tended to be with him. Unable to say anything, he simply sat down beside her, leaning with his back into the pillows, trying to remember when he had last let himself indulge in a moment of rest like this.

“Sleep well,” Belle said gently, moving a little closer towards him as she closed her eyes, his scent in her close proximity telling her that she had nothing to fear. She would be safe here, and sleep would be sweet.

He looked at her as her eyes closed, her fingertips only an inch from his leg as he sat next to her, and he dimmed all candles with magic - save for one. In its light he could look at her, a rare feeling of peace coming over him as she fell asleep next to him. She was under his care now, a gem, like the many rare paintings that hung in the main hall, or like the treasures he had collected in his centuries of living as the Dark One. She was rare and valuable - and she was all his.

But she was also vulnerable - a young woman, hardly more than a girl - without the means to protect herself. He could look after her though, protect her with magic as well as he could. But he had already failed her before - and he was starting to fear that the world would come after her once they knew how much he cared for her. 

He needed to make her more powerful, so that she could defend herself. 

As she was still sleeping beside him, he let one of his arms rest slightly above her head, taking a bit of her hair between his fingers as he smiled because of how soft it was. Lost in thought about how he could keep her in his life while he waited for his reunion with Baelfire to unfold, his fingers played with her hair, his fingers never stopping their spinning as he waited for time to pass.

When Belle woke, it was already dark again, and as she stretched by his side, she bumped into his leg, only moving closer to him when she realized she didn't want to get up just yet, her hand resting on his knee now.

As much as he enjoyed the sensation and her proximity, he knew that he needed to go on with her training. She was never going to be able to defend herself if she kept on sleeping like that. With a flick of his wrist, the candles were all alight again, and she pushed her face against his leg in order to shut out the light. 

"Time to wake up, sleeping beauty!" he teased her, and she smiled at the words, even if she was still trying to hide herself from all light. 

"Come now!" he encouraged her. "Get up!"

Of all cruel ways he could imagine to wake her, he chose to tickle her, one hand moving underneath the sheets to find her side, and once it had, he started teasing her until she was hiccupping with laughter, trying to get his tickling to stop by trying to move his hand away, and she nearly crawled out from underneath the sheets in an effort to dodge him. He snickered in glee as he continued his tickle attack with both hands, and Belle howled with laughter in response.

"Stop it! Stop it!" she repeated a few times, unable to stop her laughing until she really had enough of it. Grabbing both of his hands in a quick reflex she did not even know she had, she crawled on top of him to pin those hands to the bed, all her weight on his wrists as she needed this moment to catch her breath.

Rumplestiltskin at the same time looked up at her in surprise, the strength she had a little overwhelming, and his mouth dropped as he looked at her strict gaze, all desire to tease her gone in that moment, instead yearning for her to do something equally surprising that would take his breath away. 

The grip on his wrists loosened and she sat back a little, her weight still on his lower stomach as he perched himself up on his elbows, not taking his eyes off hers as she did not take hers off him.

She was dazzled by what had just happened - by how excited she had felt to be the one in control. She still felt nervous flutters in her stomach as she stared at him, a little voice in the back of her mind reminding her that he wasn't just a Dark One - he was a man - and she just so happened to be sitting on top of him - in his bed no less. Surely that had to give him some sort of a message?

As he slowly sat up even further, bringing his own face closer to hers, she involuntarily slipped down onto his lap, only now noticing how most of the white chemise had crawled up and gathered around her bum. He brought his hands to her sides - the warmth she could feel through the chemise causing her to stop breathing for a moment.

He was fully aware of what was happening - of the way she held still as he got ever closer to her, until his lips were only an inch from hers and he could pick up the scent of his caretaker and assistant, messy-haired and maybe not yet fully awake, but beautiful as always. As he slipped his hands around her back, holding her close in a possessive way, he was surprised she did not fight it. It was almost as though she welcomed it. 

"You do not fight the monster?" he muttered against her lips, his hot breath causing Belle to blush, and she lightly shook her head.

"Not just a monster," she said softly. "Also a man."

He was surprised by those words - surprised that the man inside was still visible to anyone – least of all to someone like Belle, whom he had treated so beastly before.

He didn’t move closer to her, instead deciding to see what she would do – to wait for the moment when she would back away. She didn’t.

Instead, he felt her soft lips on his instead, so light and soft that he did not know what to do. He gulped and pulled back, his eyes still open as he looked at her. She had an apologetic gaze in her eyes as she looked at him, and he narrowed his eyes.

“Why did you do that?” he asked in a quiet, but deep voice.

She shrugged, not immediately pulling herself further away from him.

“Curiosity,” she replied honestly.

He raised an eyebrow.

“About what? About kissing? Or about me?”

She kept quiet for a moment before she smiled and said: “Both.”

He didn’t know precisely what to think. She indeed seemed to be intent on experiencing as much of life as was possible. But no other woman had ever been so desperate that she would actually choose to kiss him of all people!

He wasn’t sure if he should feel happy for himself, or sad for her.

“Sounds to me like you are getting too comfortable here,” he muttered, getting up and putting her beside him before he got out of bed and dusted his clothes off, not that they required any dusting, but he liked to appear busy. “Put some clothes on.”

He waved his hand once, using some magic to transport her belongings. “You will find them in the closet to the left. As well as your hair brush and other belongings. The library is still yours, in case you are wondering. I will meet you downstairs for dinner.”

He didn’t look at her anymore as he headed out of the room, and Belle could not help but smile.

She didn’t think of it as a rejection that he had not continued kissing her – or that he had acted as though he had suffered quietly through the first meeting of their lips. She could sense that things were changing, and she was glad for it.

Going into the cupboard, she not only found her old golden dress and her blue dress, but also the purple one, as well as a pink and green one. There was also more underwear there than she needed in a month, and an entire drawer full of socks. Next to her brush were now many ribbons and bows, and she wondered if he wanted her to put those in her hair, or if he just thought that she would find those things nice.

She put on the new pink dress, immediately loving the warm fabric, especially as winter was approaching, and put a red ribbon in her hair to keep it together. There were even pink slippers in the closet, and she gladly put them on before she rushed downstairs, wondering why there were no mirrors in the castle. Well, she had seen some, but they had all been covered, and she really wanted to know if she looked presentable.

When she entered their large living room, Rumplestiltskin was seated behind his spinning wheel. A common sight for her, but what she was not used to was him looking up, and then his mouth dropping.

“Thank you for the new clothes!” she said warmly as she walked over to him, spinning around in front of him. “I love this dress! Does it look nice on me?”

He quickly closed his mouth as he noticed he was staring, and he smiled lightly. “Stunning,” he said, his tone playful, but he was dead serious about it.

As Belle blushed, he felt his stomach turn a little, and he wasn’t sure what to say. As he suddenly noticed something in her hair, his eyes widened.

“Stand still,” he instructed her, and as he approached her, he suddenly took a few of her hairs between his fingers, noticing that a little lock of her hair was now gold.

As he gulped nervously, Belle frowned.

“What is it?”

As he moved the hair in front of her eyes, her eyes widened too.

“Golden hair?” she said in a slightly panicked tone, immediately taking her hair in her hands to try and see it all. If she had had a mirror, this would have been so much easier.

“I think… I think I did that,” he admitted. “I played a bit with your hair while you slept.”

Belle looked a little offended. “So you decided to make a bit of it gold?”

He quickly shook his head. “No! Certainly not! It happened by accident!”

His spinning fingers had apparently for a moment confused her hair with straw. There was no other explanation.

She could not blame him if it was an accident, and she raised a finger as she said strictly: “Well be careful next time you play with my hair. I don’t want to go blonde!”

He was glad she didn’t seem too offended or unhappy with the one lock of golden hair, and he nodded obediently, not wishing to anger her further about this.

“You said we’d have dinner?” she continued, putting the matter aside. “Shall I go and prepare something?”

He shook his head. “No, no, I will summon something. Sit down.”

As Belle sat down on her chair, Rumplestiltskin summoned their meal. The scent of veal and roasted vegetables made Belle’s mouth water, and she licked her lips as she looked at the food on her plate. The last thing she had eaten had been that breakfast – but that had been over twenty-four hours ago. She was truly starving now, and immediately began to eat when Rumplestiltskin picked up his fork.

He looked at her with a half-smile, amused by her appetite.

When she noticed he wasn’t eating, she looked to the side, her mouth still full as she looked at him with raised eyebrows, then noticed his untouched plate. Feeling a little self-conscious, Rumplestiltskin immediately began eating, and Belle smiled as she continued eating herself.

When they were done, she wanted to get up and collect their plates, but Rumplestiltskin whisked the plates from her hand so that she wouldn’t need to walk to the kitchen.

She frowned. “Are you not happy with my housekeeping, Rumplestiltskin?”

He shrugged and waved his hand towards her chair again, and she sat down obediently.

“Your housekeeping was sufficient, but to be honest, not a real talent of yours.”

Belle seemed a little annoyed by that comment, and that only was cause for him to giggle.

“Besides, my magic can easily take care of the housekeeping. It is hardly a drain for me. I managed for hundreds of years without a maid of any sort.”

She sat on the edge of her seat as she wondered where he was going with this, and as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together, he continued.

“No, I would like to change our deal. Instead of a caretaker, you shall now officially be an apprentice.”

Belle smiled happily, glad to hear she was getting some sort of a promotion.

“I have a job for you,” he began, and he summoned the potion they had prepared the day before as well as a crystal ball.

“This crystal ball belonged to Jefferson. He once gave it to me during another deal of ours. Because it was his, the locator potion will respond to it – but only if he is in this world. I want you to check if Jefferson has arrived by letting the ball come in contact with a single drop of the potion. If Jefferson is back in our world, the ball will react. If he isn’t, it won’t.”

Belle nodded and took the potion from his hand, as well as the crystal ball. Going back to her seat, she sat down and opened the small vial.

“Do I need to say or do something?” Belle asked.

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “When you made the potion, you already told it a hundred times it was made to find Jefferson. It will know what is happening when you let a drip come in contact with the ball.”

Belle nodded and carefully let one drip of the potion fall on the ball. She waited for a moment as she watched the drip, before it evaporated in a small flash.

“Looks like we’re out of luck today,” Rumplestiltskin said, giggling again. “But no matter. If he is not here now, then that means we have plenty of time to prepare for when he does come back. As long as we check every day, we’ll be sure to find him at some point. That is your job.”

Belle nodded, eager to get a bit of responsibility.

“So how would the crystal ball react if Jefferson was in our world?”

“It would travel towards him, of course. It would locate him for us – like a loyal search dog.”

Belle smiled at that comparison.

“And how will we prepare for his return then?”

“With more potions, of course. And I also feel like you should learn to defend yourself. That is why I have another job for you tonight, if you are up for it. I don’t assume you want to go straight back to bed, do you?”

Belle shook her head. She had slept enough and was up for a challenge, eagerly awaiting his instructions.

“Did you ever learn to defend yourself?”

Belle shook her head.

“No, I’m a lady,” she said briefly, almost as though she regretted that.

“Well, good news then! You are to become so much more than that!”

Belle grinned as she looked at his eager smile. She couldn’t wait.


	4. Chapter 4

Rumplestiltskin had not been telling her any lies. He had begun training her in using crossbows and swords. The crossbow training wasn’t the most exciting one. He would put her in a large room, with many posters of wanted criminals hung all around the room, and she would get hundreds of arrows to shoot. It often took her hours before she was done, but when she was, she would summon Rumplestiltskin and he would inspect the walls to see how her aim was. It wasn’t incredible at first, but after a week or so, she no longer missed the posters, and after two weeks she was even able to hit the criminals on the posters in their eyes.

Sword fighting was something she enjoyed far more, if only because she was always in Rumplestiltskin’s presence then, and he would often stand behind her and touch her, showing her elegant moves of his own before he’d leave it to her to copy him. They practiced with wooden sticks at first, but after two weeks she was given her first real sword – and she was invited by him to show him everything she had.

Her moves weren’t good enough yet to overtake him, and she wondered if she ever would. He was the best swordsman she had ever seen. And even though she lost every one of their little matches and ended up on the floor more than half the times, she was happy to be up against him – happy that he encouraged her to keep on trying and didn’t tell her to give up. She never did.

Even more interesting than the training of her fighting skill, was the training of her potion-making talent. She excelled in it, making several potions that would help her if they needed to chase after Jefferson. Rumplestiltskin even praised her in this, calling her his best pupil ever, but this didn’t sit entirely well with Belle. After he had told her that for a third time, this time after they were done bottling a potion of invisibility, she carefully asked: “Did you have many pupils before me?”

He immediately sensed in her tone that she was very wary about this – and he knew that she might not be happy with a vague answer about this either.

“I had a few,” he admitted. Seeing how she wanted to know more, he decided to be honest. She was always honest with him, and he knew that she could always tell when he didn’t tell her the truth.

“The current Queen of Hearts in Wonderland wanted to learn how to spin straw into gold. She was interested in dark magic. I taught her.” He kept quiet for a moment, not sure whether to continue about her, but he decided to tell her. “She broke my heart.”

Belle had not expected that confession and her mouth dropped immediately as she looked at him in worry. She had that same frown on her face that she always had when she wanted to start a fight – one he had seen many times during their sword fighting practice – and it made him feel cared for.

“What did she do?!” she demanded to know.

Rumplestiltskin secretly enjoyed the way she reacted, and said: “Well. She wanted to live with me. Or that is what she told me. We decided on a place to meet before I would take her with me, but that evening she only came to me to tell me she no longer wanted it. Had ripped her own heart out because she wanted to choose power over me. Married a king, said we could no longer meet. She wanted a throne and continued training her dark magic on her own.”

Belle shot him a sympathetic gaze and he could not help but smile. She was truly kind to empathize with him, certainly considering the fact that she held no interest in dark magic at all.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said compassionately, and she placed her hand on his, causing him to smile.

“To be honest, I’m glad now that she never moved in.”

Belle was curious about that and raised an eyebrow.

Seeing how she was waiting for an explanation, he briefly said: “If she had lived here, I probably never would have taken you on as my caretaker. We might not even have met.”

Belle gulped as he said those words, an emotional lump in her throat as she looked at him. That was perhaps the kindest thing anyone had ever said to her, and to thank him, she threw her arms around him, hugging him close.

For the first time, she felt how he returned her hug, his arms wrapping warmly around her, embracing her tightly, and she only felt prouder of him.

The past weeks, he had often shared her bed while she slept, but no other incidents had happened like the one where she had kissed him. Not that she had regretted that kiss, but they had kept their hands to one another. At least until now.

It was like a weight fell off Rumplestiltskin’s shoulders as they broke the hug, and he had not looked as relaxed since they had met. Somehow, all their hanging out together was starting to have its effects. He appeared to be more human every day. His voice wasn’t always as giddy and high, and his shoulders and hands weren’t always as playful and tense. Every now and then, the mask fell away, and it was like she could see the man – even if he still had scaly skin all the time.

“I had a few other apprentices,” he continued, wanting to keep nothing from her, but she merely smiled.

“Did you invite them to live with you too?” she wondered.

“No,” he said immediately. “I felt nothing for them.”

Belle smiled, actually glad to hear it. “And for me?”

He kept quiet, freezing where he stood, feeling like he had walked straight into a trap.

Of course he cared for her. She was his favorite. The only one he couldn’t always predict. The one he had not seen coming, despite the many visions he had.

“Don’t be silly,” he tried to shrug it off, turning around as he wanted to leave the laboratory, but she was close behind him as he walked down the stairs, not letting him go so easily.

“You know that I care for you too, right?” she called out after him, following him happily as he rushed down the stairs.

"Yes, yes, whatever you say, dearie!" he replied, his voice impish and high again, firmly reattaching that mask that hid his emotions.

Still hopping down the stairs as fast as she could, she wondered what was holding him back. "You do know that I'm not the Queen of Wonderland, right? I won't choose power over you!"

He stopped immediately at those words, and Belle - not seeing that coming, bumped straight into him, nearly knocking him over. He immediately turned around to stabilize her and keep her from falling, and she held onto him or she would have. 

He lowered his voice again as he looked her in the eye, seeing how desperate she was for his honesty, and he shook his head as he said: "I'm not afraid you'll choose power over me. I'm afraid I'll choose power over you."

Belle grew completely quiet as she looked at him, regret in his eyes for something he hadn't even done, and she did not understand.

"Why?" she asked innocently, trying to understand.

There was frustration on his face as he let go of her and replied: "Because I'm cursed, Belle. I thought you had at least seen that."

Belle gulped. She obviously knew that he wasn't normal - that being the Dark One made him darker - and that there was a man inside, fighting for his own soul. 

"Can't we... Can't we break the curse in some way?" Belle asked hopefully, wanting him to be a good man again.

He laughed. "Yes, by killing me."

She gulped. That was not what she had hoped to hear. 

"Besides, I can't afford to lose this power now," he added darkly, thinking of his long-lost son. "I have many plans for the future, and without my powers I won't have a future."

It was sad to hear that he wasn't willing to let go of the power. Perhaps that was part of the curse. 

"What are your plans then?" she asked, and as he continued walking down the stairs until he reached the great hall, she followed him.

"Too difficult to explain," he replied briefly, but Belle wasn't put to the side so quickly.

"Don't act like I would be too stupid to understand your plans, Rumplestiltskin," she said a little firmer. "So far I've been able to keep up with everything you say."

He wasn't sure he wanted her to know all that. She would not approve of most of it. Not to mention that it was dangerous if she would ever breathe a word of it to Regina. The Evil Queen would not like what he had in store for her.

"I can't explain nearly three hundred years of planning in one minute," he replied, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Well it's not like you lack the time to explain," Belle argued wisely. "I promised you I'd stay with you forever, and I want to get to know you, so... If you ever do want to tell me... We've got time for that."

He sighed, feeling a little defeated by her impeccable logic. But still, it was a long story, and he was not in the mood to tell it. She didn't even know about Baelfire.

As he headed into the living room, he made his way for the spinning wheel, sitting down behind it with a frown. He just wanted to spin for now, and as Belle saw him sit down, she knew that she wouldn’t get the information she wanted out of him.

He started spinning like a madman, and she knew he was not going to train her in sword fighting or potion making now. It had been a long while since they had taken some time to themselves, and so she took a book and sat down in front of the fireplace, reading to the sound of his spinning.

As it got darker, the candles seemed to light themselves, but Belle knew that it was Rumplestiltskin who did this, and once she had finished her book, she stood up and headed back to the spinning wheel.

“Time for bed,” she said softly, noticing how his spinning was no longer as frantic as it had been before. He seemed to have calmed down a bit. “Will you join me?”

He hesitated, stopping his spinning, but as he looked up at her and saw her patient smile, he nodded. He got up and followed her to his bedroom, both of them quiet. As they entered the room, he went to the bed and sat himself down on top of the sheets, like he did every day, and Belle moved to the closet, where she started changing out of her dress and into her nightgown. Rumplestiltskin looked at her as she changed, her back turned to him, as always, but still he enjoyed the view.

Nothing could match her beauty or the way it made him feel. It felt like a dream as he watched her, yet he knew it was real. It almost felt too good to be true. As she crawled under the sheets, she softly said: “Won’t you rest underneath the sheets? It’s very warm and comfortable there. You never lie down.”

He didn’t want to argue with her, not tonight, and so he took off his boots as he sat on the edge of the bed and then raised the sheets to lay down, but Belle stopped him. “Won’t you change into a nightgown?”

For a moment he blinked as he looked at her. He was not going to give her a show, that was for sure. With a snap of his fingers he was wearing a chemise too, and as he crawled underneath the sheets, he had to admit that it felt very warm and comfortable – almost like getting a hug, and it was like he felt a weight on his heart because he was so unused to the sensation.

When Belle moved closer to him and put her hand on his chest and her head against his shoulder, he opened her arm so she could move even closer against him, his fingers getting lost in her hair.

As she closed her eyes, he looked for the small lock of hair he had turned golden so many nights before, and he put it between his fingers, continuing his spinning even while he closed his eyes.

He wasn’t sleeping, but he was comfortable and resting, almost able to forget all thoughts as he focused on her scent and all the wonderful things she made him feel. It was a pleasant state of being, and he actually smiled when she whimpered against him and crawled even closer a few hours later.

His beautiful Belle. All his. Forever.


	5. Chapter 5

Rumplestiltskin soon came to regret that he had told Belle anything about his past at all, because she now would not shut up about it. She talked about the Queen of Wonderland, about his other pupils, trying to get him to open up about them, and sometimes he let something slip which he rather hadn’t.

But more than anything she wanted to know his plans for the future, and while he was sword fighting with her one day, she brought it up again.

“Do you think I’ll need a lot of sword fighting in my future, Rumplestiltskin?”

He growled as their swords clashed, irritated by the question.

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly, pulling his sword back again as he hid behind one of the dungeon pillars. “It’s not like I ever saw your future.”

“But you saw your own?”

“Aye!” he replied hastily, blocking one of her swings as she had approached him from the other side of the pillar before he swung back. “Bits and pieces of it.”

She dodged him a few times, taking a few fast steps away from him to catch her breath.

“Did you see your other pupils when you saw your future?”

He swung at her again, too slow for her, for her feet were fast when she wanted to be, but he was still quick enough to block her next attempt to hit him.

“Yes,” he admitted. “All of them.”

Belle lowered her sword for a moment. “But not me?”

He used the moment to swing down on her sword, knocking it from her hands, and she sighed disappointedly as she bent down to pick up her sword again.

He looked at her bum in the golden dress she was wearing, cursing the fact that it was so puffy that he didn’t get that good a view of it, though he liked the view of her cleavage from this angle. It was a mystery sometimes why she chose to wear a dress like this, even when practicing sword fighting.

“You need to focus!” he snapped at her, hoping she had not noticed how he had been staring at her. “You’re a sitting duck if you fight like that in a battle!”

“I am focused,” she replied playfully. “But on your words, not on your fighting.”

“My words are no good to you if I kill you during a fight!” he replied strictly.

“You won’t kill me though,” she retorted. “That’s why I’m focusing on what I _really_ want to learn.”

He frowned and grunted for a moment, throwing his own sword down to the floor as he headed to the door, tired of teaching her when she only wanted to learn his secrets.

“Ah, come on, Rumple!” she called out, now having resorted to calling him that instead of his full name. It had begun a few days ago, and he had liked it too much to call her out on it. “I just wonder why you didn’t see me coming in your visions. You had no idea I existed before we actually met?”

He wanted to rush out the door of the dungeon in which they’d been training, but found that he could not. She would just bring it up again another time, and so he sighed in defeat.

“No. I didn’t.”

“What does that mean?” Belle wondered curiously. “In what way am I different from your other pupils?”

He actually gave that question some thought this time, and he frowned as he said: “They were all into dark magic. You aren’t.”

Belle’s eyes lit up. “Perhaps your visions only show you the path of dark magic, but not the other paths! And since I don’t do dark magic… You can’t see me coming!”

Rumplestiltskin frowned as he thought about it. Part of it sounded logical. Was that truly the reason?

“Do you really want to quit fighting me?” Belle asked, swinging her sword teasingly at him. “I thought I was almost winning this time!”

Rumplestiltskin suddenly laughed, shaking his head. “Not even close, dearie!”

Belle grinned. “Come on, let’s try again!”

He indulged her, no longer feeling like he needed to run out of the room. This time, she did focus more on her sword fighting skills, and he was perplexed by how fast she had been learning the past week. Sometimes it seemed like her skills no longer developed, but every few weeks, she’d suddenly take a massive leap forward, and he enjoyed seeing that in her.

After the sword fight, Belle was panting and sweating, quite exhausted from the training.

“I need a bath,” she said, and with a flick of his wrist, Rumplestiltskin whisked a hot bath into his bedroom.

“Ready,” he replied, taking her sword from her hands before he hung it on the wall, below his.

“Don’t you ever take baths?” Belle wondered curiously.

“I assure you I’m so scaly because I’m the Dark One – not from a lack of personal hygiene.”

Belle found that amusing and chuckled. “That’s not what I was insinuating. But before I came you didn’t sleep either. Now you still don’t sleep, but you rest besides me. And you enjoy it, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I guess so,” he replied, but he honestly knew that he loved it.

“Why not take a bath too then?” Belle wondered. “You might like it.”

He smiled as he looked at her, teasingly asking: “Is that an invitation?”

He loved how her cheeks turned red in that moment. She was beautiful when she blushed.

“Do you want it to be?” she asked suddenly, a slightly seductive gaze in her eyes, and for a moment his mouth dropped and he pulled up his eyebrows, surprised by the question.

“You are free to join me,” she continued warmly. “It’s more fun with two, I suppose.”

He gulped, his eyes wide open as he stared at her.

Was she joking? No – it didn’t seem like it. She was much too serious and warm about it.

“I’m not joking,” she assured him sincerely, and this alarmed him. What on earth was she fishing for?

“Why on earth would you want to take a bath with me?” he asked, completely flabbergasted by the idea alone.

“Curiosity,” she replied in a teasing way, winking at him.

He stood frozen to the spot as he realized she really wasn’t joking.

“This is hardly a normal relationship between a wizard and an apprentice,” he said weakly.

Belle shrugged in a nonchalant way. “Are we normal then?”

He narrowed his eyes. He would call her many things, but he supposed he wouldn’t call her normal, just like he wouldn’t call himself normal. They were both pretty odd and eccentric. But taking a bath together? He really didn’t know.

“You’re only hesitating because you secretly want to,” she said wisely. “Besides, you’ve seen me undress plenty of times before.”

His heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know that she knew.

“Well, from the back at least,” she added with a smile. “Say what, why don’t you go ahead and whisk to your room and get in the tub? I’ll walk there. That should give you plenty of time for some privacy.”

Another heartbeat was skipped. He wasn’t sure if he was still breathing or not.

“Okay?” she asked, noticing how she had stunned him and hoping she could move him into action.

His mouth spoke the word before he knew what he had said. “Okay.”

He needed a few more seconds to compose himself, and then he suddenly whisked to his bedroom. The tub was still standing in front of the bed, the candles were already lit, but he was still fully clothed as he gazed at the hot water. Bubbles would help preserve some sense of privacy, he figured, but how he would preserve the last shred of honor he had, he did not know.

He whisked his clothes away and looked down at his naked form. He hadn’t stood naked in a room in ages. He couldn’t remember the last time. Clothes were armor – they were a style – a way to be something that he perhaps wasn’t. But being naked, he was just himself. Nothing more. This hairless little man with a scaly skin. Almost like a lizard with a human body. All that was missing was a tail.

For a moment he wondered why he was doing this, but then he remembered Belle was coming. She was going to undress and join him. He hungered for the sight of her, even if he would never want to admit to that. Surely he could pretend he wasn’t as head over in heels with her as he really was? He was the Dark One, after all!

Lowering himself in the tub, he whisked so many bubbles around himself that only his face was visible. To be honest, the hot water was a nice sensation. Once more it felt a bit like a hug – like something safe and warm – like Belle did – and he smiled as he waited for her.

When the door opened and she arrived, he could see the blush on her cheeks and the shy way in which she averted her eyes as she saw him sit in the tub. But as she noticed the ridiculous amount of bubbles, she giggled. “I hardly saw you sitting there,” she joked, and Rumplestiltskin smiled.

He kept quiet as she walked over towards him, lowering her hand into the water to feel how hot it was. “Nice,” she said softly. “Are you enjoying your bath?”

He almost wanted to reply with a meek ‘yes’, but reminded himself that she was playing him – and he should be the one playing her. “Not as much as I will enjoy seeing you undress,” he said in his deeper voice, leaning back in the tub as he put his arms on the edge, a half-smile on his face as he watched her.

He saw Belle gulp now, realizing that he was no longer the woobie that she could mold in the palm of her hands. His confidence was back – and she had not expected it yet. For a moment her own insecurities acted up, and she was a little nervous as she stepped out of her golden shoes.

Noticing how she was trembling a little, he wondered if she would go through with it. He hoped she would, but feared he had intimidated her a little too much now. Hoping he could make the show continue, he gently suggested: “Would you feel more comfortable if I closed my eyes for a few moments?”

Those words did ease her anxious mind a bit. He wasn’t all beast now, even if it had seemed that way for a moment. It was a mask, she reminded herself, but she had full control of him if she wanted it. She just had to get over her own insecurities. She had been confident before, she just needed to find her inner strength again.

“You may watch,” she said softly, casting her eyes down as she undid the laces on her back.

It seemed to Rumplestiltskin like she knew that dress very well, for it went very fluently, and as her corset loosened, she slowly pulled it off, revealing her breasts and stomach to him as the dress slid down, eventually also revealing her lower curls and legs, and his mouth dropped a little as he breathed heavily, his member finally springing back to life after a long sleep.

Oh she certainly had stirred pleasant feelings in him before – but he had always forbidden himself to give into that. But now, he felt the most urgent erection of a lifetime as his beauty stepped out of her dress and walked towards him.

“May I ask something unconventional of you?” he asked, stopping her in her path to the bath tub, raising his hand to her and his voice high once more, and Belle blushed as she nodded.

“Close your eyes for a moment please,” he continued, and as she obeyed him, he gently stroked himself underneath the water, not taking his eyes off her and coming within a matter of seconds.

He knew it was nothing at all to be proud of, and he didn’t make a noise as he whisked away the cum from the water. He was glad he hadn’t moaned or anything of the sort, and as he felt himself go completely limp again, he said in a voice that was a little less high: “You may open them again.”

Belle had no idea what he had done in those seconds she had just stood there with closed eyes, but as she opened them again, she decided to head into the bath. He had had his chance to look at her now. As her toes touched the water, he pulled his legs up higher, giving her plenty of room to sit down opposite him. As her body disappeared beneath the bubbles, he was able to breathe a little easier again, and it looked like Belle was relaxing too, for she once more smiled at him with confidence.

“Much better,” she said, feeling herself come clean again after all the exercise of the day. “Don’t you like it too?”

He smiled, not particularly fuzzed about the water itself, but he did enjoy himself. “I liked the view I just had,” he admitted honestly, and he once more saw how she started blushing. He absolutely loved it when her cheeks turned red like that, and he grinned because of it.

“Since I showed you all of me,” she began slowly but hopefully. “Will you show me all of you as well?”

He raised an eyebrow at that question. Had she lost her mind?

“Why on earth would you want to see me?”

As she opened her mouth, he raised his hand and said: “Curiosity, I know. You keep saying that. So you’ve never seen a naked man before, is that what you’re saying?”

She nodded quickly, hoping he did not think her a child because of that.

“Well. I’m not particularly a man, Belle. I’m more of a lizard, physically speaking, that is.”

Belle raised an eyebrow, quite intrigued by that. “You have a tail?” she wondered, and as Rumplestiltskin started laughing, she felt rather silly.

“No, of course not. That’s not what I mean. I mean that I’m pretty hairless and scaly.”

“Oh!” Belle felt a little foolish now. “But other than that you’re still like an ordinary man?”

He could see how her face was red from excitement, and he narrowed his eyes as he leaned a little closer towards her.

“Why are you so interested in that – and don’t say it’s because of curiosity!”

Belle licked her lips, shrugging for a moment as she tried to find the right words. “I just want to get to know you. All of you.” She batted her eyelashes at him – subconsciously, perhaps, but it had its desired effect. Once more he felt his erection grow, demanding more pleasure from the wizard that had been so reluctant to indulge in that sort of thing before.

Well if she had been hoping he would stand up and give her a good peak at all that he was, that wasn’t going to happen now, but like hell was he going to pass up this opportunity to explore his pupil a little further. She was practically offering herself to him on a silver platter.

“Would you mind if I touched you?” he asked, his voice deep as he looked at her with a husky gaze.

“Not if you would not hurt me,” she replied carefully, and he immediately smiled.

“I wouldn’t,” he assured her, his tone almost warm. “And would you want to touch me in return, or rather not?”

She gulped, then smiled in return. “I’d love to touch you.”

He got onto his knees before he headed closer to her, his hands gripping the edges of the tub as he leaned above her, her legs opening up so his knees could rest in between them. He looked into her eyes, noticing how she still looked so very shy as she slowly brought a hand to his chest, wiping the bubbles away as she touched him. She was very quiet as she let her fingertips get acquainted with his scaly skin, gently sliding her hand lower, until she reached his belly and noticed how it felt softer than his chest.

“It’s softer here,” she whispered, and he only nodded as he enjoyed the sensation very much. He secretly hoped her hand would travel even further down. He would love it if she would jerk him off. The idea alone nearly made him come, but he tried to keep himself in check.

When her hand traveled further down, he almost feared she wasn’t going to touch it, her hand touching his hip rather than his member, until she moved sideways over his stomach, his member in the direct path of her fingers, and he moaned gently as she brushed it.

“Take it,” he said in a deep voice, before he added: “If you want to.”

She hesitated only for a second, but then she grabbed a hold of his erection underneath the water, and he moaned once more, his moan deep and slow, and Belle smiled as she realized she quite liked to hear that sound come from his mouth. She wrapped her fingers around him a little firmer, feeling how his member could be steered in any direction, and she did not know how much she was teasing him exactly as she tried that.

“You can squeeze it a little,” he whispered, very much liking what she was doing, and when she obeyed him, his moan sounded more like a chuckle, incredibly pleased that she was doing it. “Excellent. Now hold it firmly and move your hand up and down.”

He closed his eyes while she obeyed, his hands clenching tighter around the edges of the bath as he tried not to collapse on top of her. She was doing it. He was going to come this way, and Belle seemed to realize just as much, eagerly obeying him. She was learning what he liked most – listening to which moans were the loudest, and what she needed to do to achieve them. He hardly lasted a minute in her hands, coming so fiercely that he could not help but cry out her name, moaning in approval as he felt his climax ebb away again.

Belle was glad he had his eyes closed, for it gave her the chance to study his expressions, and she had never felt more powerful than the moment she had made him come. Seeing how his arms trembled, she gently pulled him down on top of her, and only when he felt his own wet body pressed against hers did he realize what she had done, and he opened his eyes to look at her in surprise.

“You must feel better now, don’t you?” she asked sweetly, and he smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, loving the feeling of her wet skin on his.

“Much,” he admitted, placing a kiss in her neck that elicited a soft moan from Belle in return. “You did very well, my apprentice,” he whispered in her ear, and as he looked into her eyes he could see how excited and proud she felt because of those words. “If you get out of the tub,” he continued. “Then I will help you reach your own climax.”

She gulped, rather nervous at the prospect of that, but she wasn’t going to pass up on this opportunity and instead nodded breathlessly.

He let go of her and sat back, the bubbles still covering most of him, though she had a pretty good view of his chest and shoulders, and she liked very much what she saw.

“Get up and dry yourself off,” he instructed her.

She wiped the foam off her body before she stepped out of the tub and took the towel he whisked onto the bed. As she dried herself off, he was still in the bath, looking at her in appreciation.

His beautiful Belle… Words could not describe how much he liked her.

As she finished drying herself off, he said: “Lay down on the bed now.”

She glanced at him, her gaze excited and flirting at the same time, and once more she obeyed him.

A snap of his fingers and he stood in front of the bed – fully clothed – and the bath was nowhere left to be seen. Belle sat up on her elbows as she saw this and frowned.

“Rumple,” she said in a disapproving tone. “Why are you wearing clothes again?”

He kept quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say.

“If you are worried I’m not attracted to you, then don’t be,” she added, smiling sweetly. “You are very handsome to me.”

He hesitated, not sure whether to remain dressed or not. Deciding to see if she really liked him as much as she said, he whisked off his vest and shirt, wearing nothing but his leather pants and boots now.

She bit her lip as she approved of what she saw, and she opened her legs a little wider as a means to tell him he could approach her now. He crawled onto the bed, hovering over her as he looked at the naked beauty beneath his arms.

“You’re so incredibly beautiful,” he said in a husky voice, his eyes still travelling over her entire body, unable to comprehend how anyone could be so perfect.

“I can say the same about you,” she replied, and though she was being honest, he started laughing as though she had made the joke of a lifetime.

“Please, there is no need for that,” he said with a grin when he was done laughing. “Unless you are attracted to lizards too, I won’t believe it.”

Belle frowned stubbornly. “Well perhaps I _am_ attracted to lizards. I wouldn’t know, I’ve never seen one before.”

He loved her stubborn frown, and he smiled as he looked at her face.

He gently leaned down on her, resting his weight on her as he brought his lips to her neck, noticing how she trembled as he began kissing her there.

While he spoiled her neck and bosom with kisses, her hands were all over his back, grabbing his bum through his leather pants and gently squeezing it. He groaned at the delightful sensation, and she whispered: “Take off those pants…”

Part of him didn’t want to reveal himself to her, but she wouldn’t be able to see much now that he was on top of her – and he certainly wanted to feel her hands on his bare bum. He would be doing himself a favor, he tried to convince himself, and in a moment, his pants and shoes were off too, once more naked as he rested on top of her.

She was squeezing his butt alright, almost as vigorously as though she had spent her entire life of dreaming about it, and he grew hard again at the sensation, too excited about the littlest of things to keep himself from getting aroused.

“You have no idea what you’re doing,” he said approvingly. “I haven’t given into these urges in ages…”

Belle smiled, glad he was giving into them now. “Well, I think these urges aren’t a bad thing… These drives can bring us closer together, don’t you think?”

Part of him feared how much closer he could get to Belle, another part just wanted to bury himself deep inside of her and never get out. “They can,” he whispered in her ear, fully aware of how his member was pressing down on her belly. He wanted to enter her, but he had promised her a climax of her own. It would be selfish to indulge himself first. The count was already two for him compared to none for her. Even the Dark One thought such a thing was unfair.

He rolled to her side, bringing his hand down to her lower curls and noticing how Belle tensed a little because of it.

“Relax,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve got nothing but pleasure in my mind for you.”

He moved a finger down her lower lips and noticed how Belle opened her legs a little wider, allowing him to slide that finger inside of her. He licked his lips as he realized how wet she was for him, then pulled out his finger again to circle her nub, Belle’s breathing growing heavier as his teasing was a success.

“Wonderful,” he whispered in approval as he saw her close her eyes, her hands on her stomach while he touched her, and he continued: “Why don’t you bring your hands to your breasts for me?”

She opened her eyes and turned her head towards him, her cheeks red as she smiled and obeyed him. He looked as she squeezed her breasts for him and he groaned in approval.

“That’s good, Belle,” he muttered, rubbing her steadily. “Are you liking what I’m doing?”

She nodded so quickly that he could not help but grin, glad with her approval.

“Will you kiss me when I come?” she suddenly asked, a little out of breath from what he was doing to her.

“Anything you ask,” he muttered as he leaned in closer to her, bringing his lips down to hers and surprised by how desperately she kissed him. She moaned against his mouth as she felt him get closer to her climax, and he absolutely loved it. He sped up his rubbing and noticed how her moans grew louder, sometimes no longer kissing him, but instead preferring to moan against him, and when her climax came, he could feel how she tensed up for a moment, then grabbed him in his neck to pull his face against hers, kissing him so passionately that he almost came there and then.

As the last waves of pleasure left her panting and whimpering his name, he soon found himself leaning over her again, his hands pulling her legs up as he positioned herself in front of her entrance.

She was too dazed from her orgasm to feel startled by his sudden approach, but gasped as he pushed against her entrance.

“Am I… am I ready?” she asked, clearly worried it was going to hurt, and for a moment he feared he was going too fast.

“You’re afraid of pain,” he gently stated, and as he saw her nod, he showed her his hand as it glowed purple. “I can prevent the pain, if you let me.”

She felt flutters in her stomach at the thought of doing this without any pain at all, and she quickly nodded her approval.

As he brought his hand down on her, he once more rubbed her sensitive nub, and she threw her head back with a gentle moan. Using his magic, he relaxed her muscles and a moment later, he pushed inside her again, this time eliciting a blissful cry from the lady beneath him. It took him all his strength of mind not to double over himself. It felt amazing.

“Good?” he asked, not remembering when he had felt better.

“Incredible,” she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck, gently pulling him down to her. He was slightly surprised by how close she wanted his face to be. Surely it could not be pleasant for her to see him so closely? Yet she brought her lips to his again and kissed him - more lovingly than ever before – and he wanted to roar in victory as he felt one of her hands travel down his back while the other rested on his chest.

She was allowing all of this, welcoming him in and exploring his body like he wanted to explore hers. But first, he wanted to tend to his erection. As he started moving inside of her, he could hear her little moans of approval with each trust, and as he sped them up, he realized she was getting a little out of breath. He stopped for a moment to check up on her, and she looked at him in surprise. “Don’t stop, that feels amazing!”

He grinned as he continued, knowing that he could come at any moment now, and he whispered: “I’m so close, Belle, so close…”

She loved that he told her that, and she replied: “Then don’t fight it. Come.”

Several harder thrusts later and he moaned her name as he came, collapsing on top of her as a normal man would, not willing to magic himself some more strength in that moment. He wanted to feel completely spent in her arms, and as he panted for breath, he felt how her hands roamed through his hair, pressing sweet kisses all over his face.

He pulled out and cleaned up his mess with a wave of his hand before he rolled over, wondering what he had done to deserve a lover like Belle. When she rolled onto her side and started tracing patterns on his stomach, he looked at her and despite himself he suddenly started crying.

She was lightly alarmed by this – wondering why he seemed so sad all of a sudden. She had no idea of the emotional turmoil she had sent him through by helping him reach his orgasm this way, and he cried: “Forgive me, Belle.”

“For what?” she asked sweetly, hugging him close to her.

His breathing was uneven as he shrugged, shaking his head. “No one should need to go through that. Least of all with me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Belle replied gently. “You were amazing. I would do it again in an instant!”

He did not stop his crying as he looked at her, his gaze sad. “Really?” he asked in a high voice, and Belle smiled warmly.

“Right now, even, if you’re up for it!” she said eagerly, and he smiled gently.

“I… I would like to make it up to you,” he continued. “I just… I feel like I don’t deserve someone as beautiful as you. I’m a monster, Belle. Look at my body.”

She looked down at his hairless body, gently rubbing his soft tummy. Scaly or not, he fit her. And he was kind and considerate enough to think of her pleasure too.

“I see nothing I dislike,” Belle said honestly. “In fact, I only see things I really like.”

She leaned in to kiss him again, and he could not fight her kindness. He kissed her back like his life depended on it, gasping when he felt how her hand grabbed his member again. Even if he was soft, her strokes still excited him, causing his balls to tighten as he slowly grew hard for her again.

It had to be said that the Dark One’s stamina was nothing to be messed with, and by the time he was erect again this time, Belle crawled on top of him, asking for his help to guide him inside, which was no problem at all. She leaned her hands down on his chest as she gently moved over him, and it only felt better when he started to rock his hips against her, bringing himself deep inside of her each time.

“I won’t come this time until you do,” he assured her, his tears gone now, though he still felt emotional and grateful for her care.

“Are all men as patient lovers as you?” Belle wondered, a little out of breath as she was still riding him, the sight of her breasts moving ever so slightly because of it something he was hypnotized by, and he licked his lips before he replied.

“There are many different kinds of men. And lovers,” he replied honestly.

“You must be a good one though,” Belle insisted, leaning back a little as she found that aroused her even more.

He grabbed a firm hold of her hips as he sped up his trusts, and noticing how Belle moaned because of that, he did not stop it. Not even a minute later, she was gasping his name and clenching all around him, and he allowed himself to come in the exact same moment, both of them completely spent when Belle collapsed in his arms.

“You are amazing,” Belle insisted breathlessly, hugging him close as she rested her head underneath his chin.

He caressed her hair, gently stroking it while his other arm wrapped around her back. What moved him the most, was the fact that she was completely honest. Perhaps he didn’t think of himself as amazing, but he knew that she did. He felt sorry for her, in a way, if he was one of the best things in her life. She must have had a crappy life.

As she regained some energy from resting in his arms, she was soon kissing his neck and shoulders in gratitude, and he allowed himself to enjoy the moment. He was surprised when he felt her hand around his member again, once more trying her hardest to arouse him. While it could be said that the Dark One had an amazing stamina, he had not expected his Belle to be the same. She was only human, yet when he put his hands between her legs to feel her up, he realized she was still very wet for him.

“Shall I take the lead?” he asked her, fearing she might be too exhausted to go on top of him again – even if it had felt incredible to them both.

She nodded eagerly, letting go of his erection, and he gently turned her on her side, away from him. She was a little surprised by the position, but felt how he positioned himself behind her, his body cupping hers while he held her close with one hand and used the other to enter her. She gasped softly, surprised by how different the sensation was, and brought one hand back to his hip, then let it slide to his bottom, squeezing it as he started trusting inside of her. He was a little gentler than before this time – almost slow – but not any less pleasurable because of it. She could really focus on how he moved inside of her, and though he wasn’t even touching her clit, she was convinced she was going to come this way.

The loving way in which he pressed kisses in her neck made her smile a little, and she breathed gently as he slowly moved against her.

She wasn’t sure what he was anymore though. He was an amazing lover, but he was also her clever master and the silly Dark One. He was the only friend she had left in this world, and his gentleness in that moment really made her feel like inside of him there was a soul worth saving. It made her a little emotional and she realized that perhaps he had also been so emotional because of something he had learned about her during their love-making.

As he kissed her neck and she felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter, his slow but steady trusting turning her on more and more by the minute, she tried to turn her head around enough to kiss him. He realized what she was trying to do and adjusted his position so they could share a brief kiss. Her gentle fingers rested on his cheek for a moment and she looked at him through half-lidded eyes, the pleasure she was experiencing clear from her gaze. “I love you,” she whispered, and as the words sunk in, he froze a little, looking at her for a sign that she wasn’t serious.

She was entirely serious though. Her eyes were warm and caring, and he wasn’t sure what she expected of him in return. Honesty? A kiss? An acknowledgement of her feelings? But if he searched his heart, then he knew that he loved her too. So much that it almost hurt. Saying it was hard though – perhaps the hardest thing he had ever done. He opened his mouth, but the words would not come out.

He tried to convince himself it wasn’t necessary. He didn’t need to tell her that.

One arm slipped around her waist, holding her close as though he owned her, his hand resting on her breast, while the other slipped underneath her, his fingers reaching for her lower curls in an attempt to find her clit.

“Don’t,” she whispered, realizing what he wanted to do. “I think I can come like this… Just… continue.”

The fact that she found it more important to tell him how to continue their love-making than to hear him return a message of love confused him slightly. She didn’t seem offended that the message was not returned.

He turned her on her stomach, moving on top of her as he penetrated her from behind, moving her long hair to the side as he kissed her neck, and her soft moans of approval warmed his heart.

He knew that he could come when he wanted to, but he wasn’t sure how Belle was going to come.

“Want me to go faster?” he asked in her ear. “Or harder?”

“Try… deeper,” she replied as she let her hands rest besides her head, her fingers holding onto the silk sheets.

He did exactly as she wanted, deepening each thrust until it made her gasp, his thrusts still slow. Deciding to see how she liked it, he thrust a little harder, noticing how she bit her lip to stifle a moan.

“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t hide your pleasure from me, my…” The word had almost come out and he wasn’t sure if he was ready, but as he noticed how she held her breath in anticipation, he finally said it, surrendering to his own feelings.”…love.”

Belle smiled, relaxing underneath his touch once more, and she was incredibly pleased he had dared to call her such. Their relationship was growing by the minute now, and she hoped it could stay that way.

“I’ll try not to,” she whispered, her cheeks blushing as he would not stop what he was doing. She was incredibly wet for him – almost soaking – and she was aching for release.

“Harder, my love,” she whispered, and he obeyed her immediately, eliciting a few moans from her.

She bit back a few, but Rumplestiltskin did not approve of that.

“No holding back, love,” he whispered in her ear, pounding harder into her at her request, his breathing a little uneven.

She moaned into the sheets, hearing him grunt and pant above her, giving her all he had until the moment finally arrived, and she cried out his name in warning.

Realizing he could finally let go as well, he buried himself inside of her, crying her name in return, trusting inside of her with all his might before he once more collapsed on top of her, wrapping his arms around her.

“A-ma-zing…” Belle said slowly, still panting as she lay on her stomach, and Rumplestiltskin grinned as he pulled out of her, about to clean up the mess between their legs until Belle rolled over on her back and looked down. “So sticky,” she said with a cheesy smile. “I didn’t know it was such a wet business, actually.”

He chuckled. “Not sure if it’s you or me,” he admitted. “But I know you’re very wet for me, and I know that I cum very much for you each time.”

As he moved his hand to her curls, he looked into her eyes, asking her for permission, and she nodded before he cleaned her up, then cleaned up himself as well.

“How often can you do that a night?” Belle wondered, feeling how her inner walls still felt like they were pounding from the amazing intercourse they’d had.

“As often as you’d like,” Rumplestiltskin said with a proud smile, taking her into his arms and hugging her close. “You are very sexy. There is no one in the world who has ever excited me more.”

It was a great compliment to get, and Belle smiled widely because of it.

“Glad to hear it,” she said with a shy giggle. “And other men?” She raised her eyebrows curiously. “How often can they do what you do?”

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. He could remember himself as a human. He had been far less impressive then. “Once or twice. Three times on lucky nights. But it’s different for normal men. Many don’t have my self-restraint, I suppose.”

Belle was amazed to hear that. “Really?” she asked curiously. “So you can do this all night long?”

He nodded. “If you want me to.”

He would. If she asked him to, he would fuck her all night long. But if she didn’t, he would lay besides her as she slept. It was up to her.

“Well, I don’t want to sleep just yet,” she admitted, moving her lips to his so they could share a small kiss.

When he slipped her tongue inside her mouth though, she startled a little, unfamiliar with that sort of sensation. It excited her, and as he kissed her passionately, she soon opened her legs for him again, feeling how he was inside of her again a minute later.

They continued their love making for what seemed like hours, exploring one another and holding each other as though it was their last night on earth. It was quite the opposite though. It was their first.


	6. Chapter 6

Weeks went by and the two of them only grew closer to one another. They both changed. Both gained a lot of confidence by learning someone else was able to love them and their lives became more pleasant as they managed to entertain one another. At times, it felt to Rumplestiltskin like the darkness inside of him was gone. He was beginning to trust Belle like he had never trusted anyone before in his life, and so he trusted her with more and more of his secrets every day. But some secrets he had not told her yet. Not because he did not trust her, but because he felt ashamed of them.

Belle noticed that he still held certain things from her, but she was in no rush to pull those secrets out of him. Every day he opened up a little bit more to her. It was only a matter of time. Love would win him over in the end.

When visitors came, however, Rumplestiltskin would still ask Belle to hide from their sight. Even if her sword fighting skills had improved lots and she was able to shoot moving targets with her crossbow now, he simply did not trust other people, and he wanted Belle to be safe above all other things. If people did not know she existed, she would remain safe.

Jefferson had not been completely forgotten yet, but revenge was no longer a top priority for Rumplestiltskin. He just wanted to know when the Hatter would be back in the Enchanted Forest. It was a matter of principle, or so he said. They still used the locator potion on the crystal ball in regular intervals, but no longer daily. They didn’t want to run out of potion before Jefferson would return.

As they sat in the great hall one evening, there were not one, but two spinning wheels in front of the fire place. Both wheels were turning as they enjoyed each other’s company and the warm flames in front of them.

Belle had asked him to move one of his spare spinning wheels to their living room so she could learn how to spin as well. She had watched him spin straw into gold so often that she had picked it up without any instructions on his behalf. She did not spin straw though – she spun normal wool – and Rumplestiltskin felt very pleased as they both sat by the fire, watching the wheels turn. It was quiet in the room, save for the crackling of the flames, and as he watched Belle, he saw the small smile she had on her face as she spun, and he could not help but wonder: “Are you happy here, with me?”

She immediately stopped her spinning and looked up with a smile.

“Of course I am!” she assured him, shooting him an encouraging gaze before her smile dropped a little, and he immediately picked up on it.

“But what?”

Belle tried to play it off as though it didn’t matter, but it did.

“I just miss my father. He must be worried sick about me. I wish I could tell him I’m happy.”

Rumplestiltskin’s expression turned into a sadder one. He could not blame her for missing her father. Gods, he missed his son. He only hoped Bae missed him just as much as Belle did her father. It was cruel to keep them apart.

“You know,” he said softly. “Maybe… maybe you can visit him?”

Belle’s eyes lit up, the blue of her eyes identical to that of her dress, and he smiled as he thought to himself that she was the most beautiful being in the Enchanted Forest.

She was unable to believe what she had heard and her mouth dropped a little. “Really?”

He shrugged. “I would not mind you seeing him. It’s just…” He stopped.

“Just what?” she asked with a bit of worry in her tone.

“I don’t want anyone to know what it’s been like for you – for us. I know we’re close, but… I don’t want the rest of the world to know that.”

“Could I at least tell him that I’m happy and safe?” she wondered, understanding his reasons for concern.

Rumplestiltskin wasn’t even sure about that. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just don’t like people knowing in general that you live here.”

Belle understood him completely. She also felt bad for the situation they were in.

“Well my entire kingdom knows I live here now. For that it’s too late.”

Rumplestiltskin sighed. “It’s my fault,” he muttered. “I should have dealt for you in private. Just you, me and your father. I could have asked him to keep it quiet or to tell everyone I would take your life or something. Then everyone would have thought you were dead.”

Belle could not help but smile, despite his silly idea.

“But is that what we want? I know it’s not something I want,” she said gently. “I don’t want people to mourn me as long as I’m still alive. I don’t want people to be sad because of me. And I don’t want to live a life of complete isolation either, even if I would love to spend the majority of my time with you. As much as I love you, I want to meet other people too. Experience the company of others every now and then.”

They remained quiet for a few moments, but they did not continue their spinning straight away, their hands still as they remained lost in thought.

“You know,” Rumplestiltskin said softly. “Curses to make people forget things aren’t that hard to accomplish. In fact, they’re quite common here in the Enchanted Forest.”

Belle looked up in slight surprise, wondering where he was going with this.

“I could curse these lands to forget about your existence. Everyone would forget. Your father, the Queens of Darkness, everyone who is here.”

“I don’t want that,” Belle said immediately, a little horrified. “I don’t want my father to forget I ever existed!”

“No!” Rumplestiltskin quickly said. “I mean, there is a way to have him remember again. I can write in a means to cancel the effects of the curse. For example: everyone who ever knew you and picks up your scent, would remember you again. We could enact this curse, everyone would forget, and then we could go to your father, make him pick up your scent, and then he would remember you. And then we could have a talk with him about how to keep you safe, by not talking about you to anyone.”

Belle kept quiet. Many of her friends and old servants would forget her that way. But she figured that perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad thing. It would allow them to stop missing her and to go on with their lives, perhaps happier than before. And it would be better for her former fiancée to forget her too, that would make it easier on him to move on. She had never cared that much for Gaston anyway.

“It doesn’t sound like a bad plan,” Belle admitted softly. “And everyone who I meet after the curse will remember me, right?”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “It’s just an erasure of your past. It’s not the hardest curse to pull off.”

“But still a curse,” Belle said with a sigh. “It must require a bit of dark magic.”

“A bit,” Rumplestiltskin acknowledged, though it was more than just a bit. “I’m the Dark One. It won’t be a problem for me.”

“How soon could you get the spell done?” Belle wondered.

“It wouldn’t take longer than a day. By this time tomorrow, I could enact it. I need one of your hairs for it, but I don’t think that’s a problem?”

Belle smiled. “Not at all. Do you require my help?”

Rumplestiltskin hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head. “No. It’s dark magic. I’d rather not have you meddle with that. Besides, you could use a day to prepare before meeting your father again. If all goes well, you could visit him as often as you’d like – as long as no one else would find out about the two of you.”

She honestly felt moved as he said that and got up from behind her spinning wheel, walking over to him and giving him a sweet kiss on his forehead.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and he smiled as he looked up at her, wrapping his arms around her legs to pull her a little closer.

“It is no problem at all.”

“I think it’s a grand gesture on your behalf. Our deal was that I’d stay with you forever.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s so bad when you visit your father every now and then,” he said with a wink, and Belle smiled warmly.

“Still…” She ran her hands through his hair in appreciation, and noticed how he leaned into the touch, his gaze hungry for more as he looked at her.

“You give me so much,” he said in a low tone. “I feel like I can’t give you back enough.”

Belle noticed how his eyes were turning lustful as he gazed at her in the fire light. She recognized the hunger and despair. Sometimes it came over him so suddenly, other times she could see it grow throughout an entire day. But despite that gaze, he never made the first move.

Sure, he would hug her or take her hand, but never more than that. He always left it up to her to decide what would happen. She usually would wait until later in the evening, when they were in their bedroom, but after the promise to have her see her father again, she felt like she owed him a treat.

As he still had his arms wrapped around her legs, she started unlacing the front of her blue bodice, noticing how his eyes lit up as he realized what she was doing. He let go of her to give her the freedom to move, and enjoyed the sight of her undressing in front of him. After her blue bodice, her blue skirt went as well, and she was only wearing a white blouse and a white underskirt now, both of them rather transparent. It didn’t leave much to the imagination, and he grinned because of it.

She adored his hungry eyes. Her beast remained seated, but she knew that he was waiting for her to allow him closer. As she took a step back, she bit her lip and winked at him, and this was his signal. He got up from behind the spinning wheel and approached her, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her close for a kiss. His hands traveled the thin fabric of her underskirt, squeezing her bottom through the fabric before they traveled up to her bosom and did the same there.

She was undressing him too now, shrugging off his leather jacket before she started unbuttoning his satin shirt. Her fingers grew quicker each time, and he was shirtless in no time, gasping as Belle teased his own nipples. As she brought her tongue to one and flicked around it, he groaned in appreciation. She was arousing him pretty well, alright.

Her hand soon went down his pants to explore that arousal, and what she found did not disappoint her. She crouched down in front of him as she pulled his pants down to his feet, releasing him into the open air. He half-expected her to want him to step out of those pants, but it seemed that was not on her mind as she suddenly brought her mouth to his shaft, wrapping around him.

He gasped as he looked down at her, surprised by what she was doing. He had gone down on her a few times, and though she had placed sweet kisses on his member before, she had never done this. As she allowed him further into her mouth, his breathing grew more irregular, the warmth and wetness of her tongue against him almost bringing him to a climax.

She had hardly even begun though. As one hand cupped his balls and the other jerked off the bottom of his shaft, she started moving her mouth over the tip of him, licking and sucking him towards his climax.

“Belle…” he whispered hoarsely, trying not to trust in her mouth even though his instincts told him to do just that. “I’m close.”

She sped up her movements because of it, and as he felt the pinching feeling in his balls that warned him that he was coming, he pulled out of her mouth in the hopes she would not have to taste him. As she heard him moan, she was not prepared for what happened next. A bit of his cum shot out and reached her cheek, the rest dripped over her own bosom. As she looked at his member, she saw that it was still erect, and while his moans grew softer, she once more brought her lips to his member, licking the last cum away while he shuddered.

“Belle!” he gasped, the sensation a bit too much, and as he looked at her and realized the mess he had left on her face, he didn’t know whether it excited him or left him ashamed. It was a bit of both.

She looked up at him with a smile though, and he could not help but offer her a relieved smile of his own, gasping again when her hand squeezed the last juice out of him.

She was the best. There was no doubt about that, and as his own hungry gaze was met by one of hers, he grinned. He cleaned up the cum with a wave of his hand before he pulled her up and against him, kissing her frantically as he ripped the clothes of her body. She gasped – not used to having him do that, and honestly a little worried about her favorite underdress, but he muttered: “I’ll fix it with magic…”

That relieved her and she grinned, allowing him to pull off the last of her clothes before he parted her legs a bit with his hands and started feeling her up. His fingers knew their way around her pretty well by now, but still she gasped as he slid two fingers into her, realizing how wet she was for him from how it sounded and felt to her. It didn’t bother him at all, and he stroked her inner walls, curled his fingers inside of her in an attempt to get her even more excited for him. It worked. She lifted one leg to his hip, and he grabbed a firm hold of it as he continued fondling her below, appreciating her enthusiasm above all things.

As he looked into her eyes and saw how lustful she looked at him, he grinned. His own member had come back to life as well and he thanked the Dark One’s stamina for the fact he could leave her more satisfied than any other man in the Enchanted Forest. Don Juan really was nothing compared to him, and as he lifted her up, she clasped her legs around him before he entered her, holding her steady against his body as she held on tightly.

With swift and smooth movements of his hips, he rocked himself inside of her, and she actually had a happy smile on her face as she moaned for him, each of his thrusts hitting her in the exact spot she wanted him to.

He eagerly continued, no pleasure greater than watching her as she surrendered herself to his mercy, her bosom heaving up and down as he continued his pounding. He wasn’t being gentle with her tonight, but he knew that she was up for about anything. Besides, there was still plenty of time for gentleness later on. For now, he wanted to hear her cry out in pleasure, and as he sped up, she did just that. It didn’t take too long for her climax to wash over them both, and he moaned in appreciation as he allowed his own arousal to release itself inside of her.

As a normal man, he would not have been so fortunate to have that liberty. He never would have lasted that long. He never would have been able to lift her up for such a long time and trust into her so eagerly without falling over. Heck, he would have had trouble supporting himself on his bum leg, leave alone the two of them. But the Dark One was an excellent lover and he was starting to realize that himself.

He knew that he wasn’t much to look at, but Belle often assured him that he was amazing and that she could not desire for anything more as he made love to her.

He was still holding her underneath her bum as she completely relaxed in his arms, and as she rested her head in the crook of his neck and sighed longingly, he smiled. When he pulled out of her, he heard her soft gasp, and he gulped his own sensitivity away. It was the least pleasant moment of intercourse – pulling out of her – but he knew that it wouldn’t necessarily be for long, and that made it bearable.

“Did that please you?” he asked gently, and he felt how she nodded against him.  “Would you like more?”

There was a moment of silence, and then a longing sigh. “Yes, please.”

He would be her willing slave for as long as she wanted him to, and as he whisked the two spinning wheels and their clothes away, he lay her down on the carpet in front of the fire before he lay himself on top of her and started caressing her neck and bosom, showing her that he loved every inch of her before he buried himself inside of her again, this time slower as she rocked her own hips against his, creating the kind of friction that he could only have when she joined him actively in their love making. It were those moments that he loved the best, when they worked together as one, and the reward was the most blissful climax they could both experience.

“I love you,” she whispered against his ear, and he no longer felt like it would kill him to say it.

“And I love you,” he replied in hers, hugging her close while she firmly wrapped her arms around him, wrapping him up in her warmth and loving care.

She was all his. Forever. He could hear the word repeat itself in his mind. He could have her _forever_ – be with her _forever_ – be loved _forever_. There was no greater feeling in the world. He would make sure no one could ever hurt her.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, they did not spend a lot of time together. He worked on the curse while Belle spent her day reading and practicing her crossbow skills. In the evening, he finished the potion that would inflict the curse. All that was necessary now was a single hair of his beloved. She had given him one earlier that morning, and as he held it above the potion, he gulped. He was robbing the entire world of the memory of this beautiful woman he had come to love so much. It was cruel, but he told himself that it was for the best. She would be safer this way. Not just that, but she had given her consent.

Dropping the hair in the potion, he could hear a sizzling noise before magic itself washed over him, skipping him since he was the creator of the curse, but continuing on to the rest of the world, looking for all other people who had ever known of Belle, erasing not just the memories, but also all other proof of her existence from the realm. All her belongings would be gone and as he was about to wrap it up, he suddenly heard the pull of magic, her voice in an echo, crying out his name in slight despair.

He whisked to her side in an instant, appearing in the library behind her, though it was no longer a library now. All books were gone, as well as all other furniture, and the room was completely empty as Belle sat on the floor, completely naked.

“Rumple!” she cried out in despair. “I don’t even know what happened! One moment I was reading a book on the bench, the next moment I fall to the floor, naked! Everything here disappeared! Even my clothes!”

His mouth dropped as he realized what had happened and for a moment he could curse himself. He had given her the library, and those clothes, and as a result it was now all gone.

“Oh dear,” he sighed, for once not in a high tone, but in a truly defeated one. “I forgot that the library was yours.”

Belle gulped as she got up and looked at him, still as naked as the day she was born. “So that’s it?” she asked, her voice a little gentler as she realized something. “All memories of me have been erased?”

“As well as your belongings,” he added, annoyed now that he had not told her that, and though she tried to remain strong, there were soon tears falling over her face.

He summoned one of his warmest capes into his arms and put it around her shoulders, not wishing for her to feel cold or distraught. She cried though, and he feared she was regretting her choice.

“Can we get the books back?” she asked through her tears, and Rumplestiltskin wiped them away.

“Of course we can,” he said softly. “These books weren’t the rarest ones. I’m sure I can find them all again. And more, if you want.”

That comforted her slightly, but she suddenly startled as she reached for her neck, then gasped. “My mother’s necklace!” she cried out in panic. “Is it gone too?”

Now he felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had not considered that it was a keepsake. She certainly had never told him it had belonged to her mother, though he had often see her play with it when she talked of her past.

“Oh, Belle, I’m so sorry,” he said, truly feeling miserable. “I should have told you your belongings would disappear as well.”

She looked just as miserable as him, but when she saw that he was empathizing with her, she suddenly offered him a half-smile, hope in her eyes. “At least you still remember me. That is what matters.”

He smiled in return, grateful for her optimism.

“And tomorrow, you can go see your father,” he said softly. “And he will remember you too. And you won’t be in danger.”

Belle was glad to hear it, but when she looked around her she sighed sadly. “So many books gone… I was reading such a nice one…”

He embraced her in an attempt to comfort her, and she took the embrace. “Will you take me to your room?” she asked. “I hope you haven’t given the room to me though. Do you think the bed is gone?”

“Only one way to find out,” he said, whisking them both to the bedroom, relieved to see everything was still there. Belle immediately went to the closet, seeing that all her clothes had disappeared.

She raised an eyebrow. “How convenient,” she muttered, her tone actually slightly amused, and this intrigued Rumplestiltskin.

“All my clothes appear to be gone!” she said, a small smile tugging in the corner of her lips as she walked closer to him again, opening the cloak he had draped around her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor.

He grinned as he watched her come ever closer to him, until she stopped in front of him and put her arms around his neck. He licked his lips as he looked down.

“Aren’t you going to help me?” she asked playfully. “I can’t very well walk around the castle naked…”

He chuckled as he eyed her curiously. “I beg to differ.”

When she gasped, he suddenly took her by her hips and lifted her up, carrying her to the bed where he threw her down and jumped on top of her, kissing her neck and hearing her giggles and cries of pleasure as he pretended to ravish her.

She would get some clothes alright, but not until he was done with her.

 

Their lovemaking rounds could last for hours – and this one was no different. Belle was completely exhausted as she lay on her back in bed, smiling happily as he lay against her, his arms wrapped around her, one leg over hers as he looked at the corner of her mouth and the tiny smile that rested there.

“You know that I will give you everything you desire, don’t you?” he asked softly.

She turned her head to look at him, surprised that he had felt the need to say that. “Yes,” she said softly. “But you don’t have to give me everything I desire.”

He seemed a bit confused by that, not understanding what she meant.

“Leave some things to be desired,” she said mysteriously. “If you give me everything, then there is nothing in the world I could wish for.”

He frowned, still not completely understanding: “So… you don’t want clothes after all?”

She laughed. “Of course I do!”

He teasingly continued: “You don’t want me to please you anymore during our lovemaking?”

Another laugh. “Don’t be silly. Though I’m not saying you need to give me eight orgasms an evening.”

“Only eight?” he asked, clearly outraged, and it only took a minute before his hand was between her legs again, rubbing her as she laughed. “You’re still wet,” he said. “Sure you don’t want one more?”

She bit her lip as his fingers flicked around her clit – rubbing with the speed and pressure she could not resist.

“Just one,” she sighed softly, and he chuckled as she came again, her mouth open so adorably as she moaned, that he grinned widely because of it. When she saw his gaze a few moments later, she shot him a suspicious look.

“You’re not trying to break the record tonight, are you?”

“Record is fourteen,” he muttered, a little offended. “Don’t you think I’d be trying a little harder if I was going for that record?”

Belle laughed. “Oh please, no. I could hardly walk the day after. No need to prove your affection for me by breaking such records. It leans towards the sadistic side.”

He giggled, very amused by her words, and she laughed in return.

He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter, kissing her cheek affectionately.

“So… Have you figured out yet what you want to tell your father?” he asked curiously.

Shrugging, she shook her head. “Not completely, I suppose. I’m doubting whether I should tell him that I love you or not.”

“Can’t imagine any man would want to hear I’m sleeping with his daughter,” Rumplestiltskin said dryly, wrinkling his nose.

Belle chuckled. “I know. It would probably anger my father too. But at the same time… I don’t think he can understand how happy I am here.”

“Whatever you tell him, make sure he keeps it to himself,” Rumplestiltskin said. “I didn’t just enact this curse to have the world forget about you, only to have him tell the entire world of you again.”

She nodded. “I’ll play it safe. I won’t tell him too much, I suppose. Perhaps I can admit more and more as time goes by… You know, when I visit him in the future?”

Those last words seemed to be a question to her – as though she wasn’t sure she was allowed to visit him again in the future, and he could have none of that.

“You will visit him as often as you like,” Rumplestiltskin said. “When I first made the deal with you, I had forgotten how important family was. If it is your desire to see your father, I will not stop you.”

Belle narrowed her eyes. Something about the way he spoke about family struck her as odd, as though he was keeping something from her.

“Did you have a good relationship with your father?” she wondered, and as Rumplestiltskin started laughing, she was surprised.

“Oh, heavens, no!” he laughed. “Would probably kill him if I encountered him again now.”

Belle seemed alarmed by that threat and didn’t know what to think.

Seeing her alarmed gaze, he explained: “The man abandoned me when I was a child to live on another world. To get away from me.”

Belle frowned, finding it hard to believe.

“He was a monster.” He inhaled deeply, before he sighed: “Guess it runs in the family.”

Belle turned towards him and hugged him close.

“You shouldn’t think like that! You’re not him. You’re not a monster.”

Rumplestiltskin’s gaze turned sadder though. “I’m not so sure about that. The only difference between him and me is that I regret some of the mistakes I’ve made. He is proud of the horrible choices he made in life, like when he abandoned me.”

Upon seeing his wistful gaze, she realized he was keeping something else from her. If they had made the same mistakes…

“Did you abandon a son?” she asked softly, and as she felt him tense in her arms, she immediately knew it to be true, and it came as quite a shock to her.

Looking into her eyes, he knew that she knew, and so he sighed, a little defeated. She was truly learning all about him.

“Yes. In a way.”

“Tell me,” she urged him. “I want to know everything.”

He hesitated for a few minutes, but as he looked into Belle’s eyes, he found that he could not deny her anything. She was the love of his life, he did not doubt that for one second. She had given up her entire life for him, so it only seemed fair he shared some of his past with her.

He began telling her of a life he had lived before he had become the Dark One. Of a seer, who had predicted his wife was with child. Of the war, and how he had crippled himself and still had the scars to prove it. She had seen those scars several times, had even asked about them, but he had never told her about them before. He told her of his good intentions, of the pirate that took his wife away, of how he crushed her heart, of the Ogre Wars and how his son Baelfire was to become a child soldier. How he encountered the former Dark One and was tricked into killing him. He left out the details about the dagger, not ready to share that with her yet, and continued to tell her about how the power he had gained had allowed them a good life - how they had no longer been poor and hungry - and how he had been able to give Baelfire everything. But he also told her of the villagers he had killed, and how it had pushed Baelfire away from him. How the boy had been given a magic bean and how he had used it to open a portal. How he had been too afraid to lose his power and to follow his son. How the cost of magic had robbed him of his human appearance and how it blackened his heart every day he used it. How the Dark One was always trying to consume Rumplestiltskin and make the spinner disappear. 

Belle was quiet as she listened to all of that, still laying in his arms, not leaving his side, but she startled a little as he told her that last bit. There had been many shocking revelations in what he had told her, but if the Dark One was trying to replace him... That was a horrific thought.

"Is he close?" she asked him, her voice a little frightful. "To making the spinner disappear completely, I mean?"

Rumplestiltskin felt miserable to see her like this, but she had a right to know. Putting his hand on his own chest, he suddenly pulled out his own heart - lifting it to show her what damage the Dark One had done to it. The outside of his heart had darkness around it, a few red spots still shining through, but his mouth dropped a little as he realized something.

"It's lighter than it has been in a long time," he muttered. "Last time I saw it, it was much worse."

This gave Belle hope again. "So does that mean you're conquering the darkness from within?" she asked, sitting up a little straighter to look at the heart in his hands. 

He chuckled, a bit of relief as he heard she no longer sounded so sad. "I think so," he said softly. "Though I doubt I can ever conquer it completely. The darkness will not be stilled."

"What would a normal heart look like?" Belle wondered.

"Usually hearts are redder than this. They have some black spots depending on the dark deeds a person has done."

"So my heart would be red?" Belle asked, and Rumplestiltskin nodded in reply.

"Want me to show you?"

Belle wouldn't appreciate anyone else ripping out her heart, but with Rumplestiltskin it was different. She nodded eagerly, and he sat up as well, placing his hand on her bosom first, making sure she was looking into his eyes before he ripped her heart out. She gasped, a sharp pain going through her chest, though it subsided a moment later already.

Still a little dazed from the pain, she looked at Rumplestiltskin’s heart, then at hers, and the difference was quite big. Though they were roughly the same in size, Belle's was so bright it almost hurt her eyes.

Rumplestiltskin frowned as he put her heart closer to his eyes.

"Remarkable," he muttered, and Belle raised an eyebrow.

"What is?"

"White spots," he explained, showing her heart from even closer. "Mine is shrouded in darkness, but yours has light spots. Two of them. This one is even rather big."

As they both leaned closer, their foreheads were almost touching as they studied the strange phenomenon. 

"Have you never seen that before?"

He shook his head. "No. Though I must say I try not to make a habit of ripping people's hearts out. That sounds more like something the Evil Queen or her mother would do."

“How do you think the spots got there?” she wondered curiously.

He thought he had an explanation for that, and said gently: “Perhaps these are spots of light – representing things you have done that weren’t evil, but heroic. Like when you sacrificed your own life for that of your people.”

Belle smiled, finding that a beautiful explanation for it.

“And the other spot?” she continued, not remembering any other heroic moments in her life.

“Perhaps you gained that one by loving me?” he continued softly, and they both smiled at one another.

He put her heart back in her chest before he did the same to his, and Belle immediately hugged him and kissed his lips afterwards.

“Thank you. For telling me all of this. For – even literally – showing me your heart…”

“Don’t mention it,” he said gently, and they lay down again.

Belle still had many questions, but he had told her so much already. It was time to let it sink in. Besides, she would have a big day ahead of her tomorrow. She was to see her father again. She hugged Rumplestiltskin a little tighter as she thought about that, and only a few minutes later, she was asleep.

 

Rumplestiltskin visited Maurice when he woke up in his chambers. The king was terrified for a moment, wondering what Rumplestiltskin was doing there, but Rumplestiltskin managed to convince him to meet up in the library after breakfast. Alone. With all the guards out of sight.

Maurice wasn’t even sure what the imp wanted to tell him, but the imp had stressed that it was of great personal importance, and so he had no chance but to hear the imp out.

When he entered the library, the imp was talking with a woman. Her long hair reached until her back, and her small and tender frame almost struck him as something he remembered.

“Colette?” he wondered for a moment, but when the girl turned around, he saw it was not his wife. She was far too young, and her eyes were too blue, like his. But still. There was something about her…

“I’m not Colette,” Belle said softly, approaching him carefully. The king was wary and looked at Rumplestiltskin for a moment, seeing how he did not stop the girl. Whoever she was, she had to have some sort of a deal with the Dark One.

“Then who are you?” he asked, lifting his hand to stop her from approaching him further, and she obeyed, not wishing to frighten him.

“I’m Belle,” she replied, her voice calm even though she felt horrible for the fact he looked at her as though she was a stranger. He had never looked at her like that before. “I’m afraid your memories were tampered with.”

“By me!” Rumplestiltskin added in a shrill voice, and Maurice frowned, not liking this one bit.

“But they can be restored,” Belle added hopefully.

She took another step closer, then another, until she was close enough to hug him. “May I give you a hug?” she continued softly, and Maurice found he was unable to resist. She was such a small woman. Surely she was no threat to him?

He wanted to get it over and done with. He felt ill at ease being in the same room as the Dark One. Hugging Belle, he was about to let go of her when he suddenly picked up her scent, freezing where he stood as memories flushed through his mind again, leaving him breathless for nearly a minute before he gasped and stepped back from Belle. Looking at her with wide eyes, he remembered how they had once called upon Rumplestiltskin. How she had been taken from him. How he had missed her. Seeing that it was really her, he suddenly laughed and hugged her again, lifting her up as he swung her around, and Belle felt five years old again.

“Belle!” he said happily. “Belle! How is this possible?”

He looked at Rumplestiltskin, then back at Belle.

“The deal was that you’d go with him forever!” he said, not understanding what was going on.

“A new deal was struck!” Rumplestiltskin said in his high, impish voice. “She may visit you whenever she feels like it from now on – but only if you promise not to tell anyone about her in your entire lifetime.”

Maurice was confused, not knowing whether he should accept those conditions or not, but Belle took his hand and said: “It’s for the best, papa. I will explain it to you. But you should accept it.”

Maurice nodded in silence, willing to hear her out.

“Well I must be off now!” Rumplestiltskin said dramatically. “But I will be back to pick up my caretaker later on! Behave now, dearie!”

Belle smiled warmly, speaking from the bottom of her heart as she said: “Thank you, Rumplestiltskin.”

He winked briefly at her before he disappeared, whisking back to the dark castle, where he appeared in his laboratory.

Part of him was curious about what Belle and her father would be talking about, but he had no time to indulge that curiosity. He had already made a plan in his head, and now he was to set it in action.

He would gather Belle a new library. He was going to need books, obviously, and he knew just the place where to go.

Taking several buckets of golden thread with him, he whisked to king George’s royal chambers, scaring the man as he was shaving himself, cutting his cheek as he saw Rumplestiltskin behind him in the mirror.

“For fuck’s sake,” the man swore, and this caused Rumplestiltskin to giggle.

“My, my, such a dirty mouth on such a tiny king!”

“Are you trying to kill me?” the king muttered as he took a towel and patted away the blood from his cheek.

Rumplestiltskin giggled once more. “Dearie, if I was trying to kill you, you’d already be dead.”

King George narrowed his eyes. “Then what do you want?”

“To make a deal, of course!”

Rumplestiltskin lifted the two large buckets of gold, and this immediately grasped king George’s attention, who turned around and threw the towel to the side, stepping closer to Rumplestiltskin with his arms crossed.

“Go on,” he said warily.

“This gold… in exchange… for your books.”

King George raised an eyebrow. “Books?”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “Aye, books.”

The king took a deep breath, trying to figure out the Dark One’s angle. “None of my books are about magic.”

“Not necessary.”

“In fact, many of them are about politics.”

“You can keep those.”

The king still didn’t understand.

“So why do you want books?”

“That is none of your business. Let’s just say that I am in a rush to acquire a new library. Had a bit of an accident in my old one. No magic books required.”

King George looked at the buckets, then said: “Three buckets?”

Rumplestiltskin whisked another bucket in the room with a snap of his fingers.

“Pleasure doing business with you!” And with another snap of his fingers he was gone, back in Belle’s old tower, but this time with bookcases he had taken from King George. Even though the deal had not been for bookcases, just books, he figured that king George would not need the bookcases now that he had all the actual books. In a way, the king should be thanking him, he told himself.

He continued whisking all around the Enchanted Forest in order to get Belle the library she deserved. He even whisked a large four-poster bed to the library, as well as a reading bench that was much more luxurious than her former one, and a beautiful desk with many hidden compartments that she would surely love.

The details weren’t forgotten either. Beautiful candelabras and vases with flowers were left on various small tables in the room. He could not imagine her disliking the sight of it.

When he was done, the afternoon had already arrived. He wondered when Belle would call upon him. To distract himself, he went into his laboratory again, checking out his collection of potions when he realized they hadn’t checked if Jefferson was back in the Enchanted Forest since a few days earlier.

As he took the crystal ball in his hand and let a drop of the locator potion fall on it, it suddenly started glowing, and Rumplestiltskin’s eyes grew wide.

_Jefferson was back._

At the memory of how his old friend had betrayed his trust, he felt rage well up within him, the darkness reminding him that he should not let it go by unpunished. It was time to make the Hatter pay for what he had done.


	8. Chapter 8

He followed the crystal ball for what seemed like hours, glad that Belle had not called upon him yet. Though he had prepared her for weeks, trained her to make this adventure her own, the darkness inside of him told him that this was his only chance to get his revenge.

Jefferson was nowhere near the Dark Castle though, and while the crystal ball traveled faster and faster, encouraged by Rumplestiltskin’s dark magic, it only stopped when it reached the ocean, after which point it disappeared underneath the sea level. But Rumplestiltskin had seen the direction it was headed. He knew a rather small island that lay not too far from the coast and he wondered what Jefferson would be doing there.

Transporting to it, he whisked from place to place, investigating the small cottages and its inhabitants, wondering where the Hatter could be. He eventually whisked into the forest, spying a man in the distance, and he snuck up on him as quietly as he could.

Jefferson was picking mushrooms, gathering his evening meal, his back to Rumplestiltskin as he was humming to himself. He wasn’t wearing his usual dark leather clothes, but instead wore some gentler colors, a brown long jacket with a brown suit, and he actually seemed relaxed. But the next moment, he yelped when Rumplestiltskin lifted him in the air with his dark magic, tossing him against a tree.

He landed on the forest floor with a loud thud.

Jefferson wasn’t knocked out yet, just disoriented, and he immediately looked around for the source of this magic as he crawled up, his mouth dropping when he saw Rumplestiltskin, a mad rage on the imp’s face as he walked closer to him, already imagining in his mind how he was going to make Jefferson suffer for what he had done.

A voice stopped him though – a child’s voice – and he startled when a girl walked into the clearing, shouting: “Papa!”

Rumplestiltskin froze, his eyes wide as he looked at the girl – no more than nine years old, her beautiful light brown hair draped over her cloak, a small basket with mushrooms in her own hands as she looked at her father and then at Rumplestiltskin in fear.

“Grace, stay back!” Jefferson called out, fear in his eyes as well.

He did something then that Rumplestiltskin had never seen the proud hatter do.

He got on his knees, his hands folded together as he begged: “Please, Rumplestiltskin! Please, let me explain!”

Rumplestiltskin was still confused. The girl had called Jefferson ‘papa’. But how… _when_ had he become a father then?

“She lost her mother only a month ago,” he explained desperately. “I didn’t even realize my daughter existed before that time. I went to get her from Wonderland. That is why I needed your essence of being. So I could take her with me without making more enemies!”

Rumplestiltskin frowned, his words logical and believable, and he knew that Belle would never forgive him if he were to punish the hatter now. Heck, he wouldn’t even forgive himself.

“Please, Rumplestiltskin,” Jefferson continued. “I was hoping you could forgive me. For old time’s sake! We’re friends, are we not?”

Rumplestiltskin frowned.

“Friends don’t steal from friends,” he snapped, turning away for a brief moment before he whirled around again, his voice harsh as he asked: “Why didn’t you just ask me?” He was clearly still frustrated by the lack of trust.

“I was afraid you’d use her against me! She’s my strength, but also my weakness. I did not want anyone from my past to know she existed. I just want a simple life now, Rumplestiltskin. No more shenanigans or crazy adventures. No more enemies. Just a good life for me and Grace. She deserves it.”

As Rumplestiltskin looked at the little girl, she did not look away from him, though she had tears in her eyes.

“Please, sir,” she begged of him, taking a brave step closer. “Spare my father’s life. Whatever he has done... I can’t live without him. He is the only family I have left!”

Rumplestiltskin felt his own heart ache, thinking of Baelfire, but also thinking of Belle. Yet at the same time, he felt the Dark One inside of him urging him to take drastic measures – to make sure it would never happen again. It was nagging at him, pushing him to use violence or dark magic, pushing him to darkness.

“No!” he suddenly cried out, turning around and taking several clumsy steps back, almost falling over as he tried to still the darkness within.

Grace immediately ran to Jefferson’s side, who held her closely, still afraid for his life.

Rumplestiltskin growled to himself, trying to ignore the darkness within. He had come so far since he had let Belle in. Perhaps, if he continued improving himself, Baelfire would not despise him for everything he was. He had to try – if not for Belle, then for Baelfire. Neither of them would approve if he hurt Jefferson now.

“I’m sparing you,” he growled. “But only because of Belle… And Baelfire.”

Jefferson knew of Baelfire, had looked for a way to a land without magic – with no luck. He considered himself fortunate that he had received mercy from the Dark One, only because they were both fathers to children without a mother.

Grace suddenly looked up in surprise.

“Baelfire?” she repeated, as though the name rang a bell, and both Jefferson and Rumplestiltskin looked at her, confused. “There is a boy in my dreams,” she said softly. “His name is Baelfire too.”

Jefferson wanted to make his daughter shut up – even if he did not really know what she was talking about. But he saw the look in the Dark One’s eyes and feared this would not bring them peace just yet.

Rumplestiltskin approached her, eventually even kneeling in front of her as he looked at her with an intense gaze.

“What does he look like?” Rumplestiltskin asked, wondering what this meant. Could it be fate that had led the young girl on his path?

“Dark hair,” Grace replied. “A lot of it. He’s older than me. Like… Older than twelve, I suppose?”  
“What’s the color of his eyes?” Rumplestiltskin asked softly, his heart swelling in his chest at the thought that Baelfire was still alive somewhere – not aging – waiting for him to catch up.

“Brown,” Grace said honestly, looking at her father, who gave a brief nod.

“Where is he?” Rumplestiltskin continued urgently. “What place do you dream of each night? Is it a world without magic?”

Grace shook her head. “No, there is a lot of magic, in fact. It’s an island. It’s called Neverland.”

Even Jefferson knew that name, gasping as he looked at the Dark One by his side.

Rumplestiltskin’s breath hitched in his throat. He knew that place from when he had been a child himself. He knew of its ruler too… But he had never thought that Baelfire would be in a world with magic – or else he would not have looked so desperately for a way to the world without magic.

“And Peter Pan?” he asked carefully, noticing how Grace remembered that name.

“Oh, I know him too! He doesn’t like it when girls visit his island. I usually wake up when I see him. I’m terrified of what he’d do.”

Rumplestiltskin gulped, not finding the girl foolish at all for doing such a thing.

“And Baelfire?” he continued. “Is he with Pan?”

Grace shook her head. “No. He is hiding from him, living in a cave on the island. Sometimes I visit him.”

Rumplestiltskin had a frown on his face, even more worried about Baelfire now than he had been when he had assumed the boy to be in a world without magic.

“Can you pass him a message? In your dream? Tonight?”

Grace gulped, but nodded slowly. “I think so… I can try.”

It was the only thing he could think of for now, and so Rumplestiltskin said: “Tell him that his papa is looking for a way to save him. Tell him to be ready.”


	9. Chapter 9

When Belle summoned Rumplestiltskin to her side to pick her up, she hugged her father goodbye, only breaking the hug when she heard Rumplestiltskin’s gentle cough behind her. Maurice looked at the imp as well, a gentle smile on his face, and extended his hand to him.

“Thank you for allowing us this time together, Rumplestiltskin.”

The Dark One gave the man his hand, surprised by how warmly he squeezed it.

“I now understand why your magic needs to be repaid by sacrifice. Belle explained it to me. If I need to repay you for bringing her here, name your price.”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head, unable to ask for anything.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Taking Belle’s hand, she smiled bravely at her father before they both whisked back to the Dark Castle, where they appeared in front of the fireplace in the Great Hall. Belle startled, however, when she heard a voice bid her good evening.

Two extra chairs had been summoned around the large table, and Jefferson and Grace were having tea there, while Belle looked up in surprise.

“Jefferson! What brings you here?”

“Don’t you mean ‘who’? I do, obviously,” Rumplestiltskin teased her. “Jefferson and his daughter Grace are to help me reunite with my son. It will be their way of repaying for the Essence of Being that Jefferson stole.”

Belle couldn’t quite keep up. It had been quite an emotional and draining day for her already. She had told her father as much as she could have about her life with Rumplestiltskin, without spoiling all his secrets or mentioning the fact that their relationship wasn’t strictly platonic.

“How?” Belle wondered, very curious about that.

“We were just discussing that,” Rumplestiltskin explained. “Perhaps young Grace would like the honor to explain the plan we have come up with so far?”

Grace blushed a little at the attention the Dark One gave her, and looked up shyly at Belle.

“When I dream, I go to a place called Neverland. Or at least I used to while I still lived in Wonderland. I haven’t slept in this world yet… If I can still go there while I sleep in this world, then I can give a message to Baelfire in my dreams.”

Belle was a little stunned.

“Is Neverland the land without magic?”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “No. But the prophecy I heard was very different. It would not have come to pass for about 30 more years. Grace, however, is from another world. I would not be surprised if her encountering me was never foreseen. It might allow me to change my plans to reunite with Baelfire – perhaps without any of us ever having to go to a land without magic. We can try to take another path – and perhaps this way I can reunite with Baelfire even sooner.”

Jefferson frowned. “How were you going to get us over to the land without magic?” he wondered. “The hat won’t take you there. And though beans might have been able to do it, I doubt there are still any around.”

“A curse,” Rumplestiltskin answered honestly. “A curse to transport not just me, but the entire Enchanted Forest to this land without magic. I had foreseen all of it. The one to inflict the curse, the one to break it.”

“Couldn’t you just inflict and break it yourself?” Belle wondered.

“No, no such luck.”

Belle frowned, wondering who he had planned to be the one to curse all of the Enchanted Forest then.

“We will see how far this path takes us,” Rumplestiltskin said calmly, his voice deep and dramatic. “Jefferson and Grace are to remain here to help me with this quest, and they will be taken care of in return. Then, once I reunite with Baelfire, they are free to go.”

Belle frowned, not completely at ease about that. She worried that this reunion wouldn’t go as easily as he thought, and she wondered if Jefferson and Grace would need to remain in the castle for all eternity then, as prisoners of some sort. She hoped she would be able to change Rumplestiltskin’s mind, should the plan fail.

Not much later, Grace and Jefferson were both given their own rooms in the east wing of the castle, far from Rumplestiltskin’s room. As Grace went to bed, Rumplestiltskin left her a bell by her bedside. She was to ring it the moment she woke up, to tell him all she had learned of Neverland.

Jefferson went to bed as well, and so did Belle and Rumplestiltskin. As they lay in each other’s arms, Belle’s head rested on Rumplestiltskin’s shoulder.

“Who would inflict the curse, or break it?” she wondered, still not able to forget his words of earlier that evening.

He hesitated, not sure whether it was wise to tell her.

“I can’t tell you,” he said truthfully. “If Grace is unable to lead me to Baelfire, then I have no choice but to follow my initial plan, and you knowing about these plans might put them in jeopardy.”

“Or I could actually help you?” she proposed softly, but Rumplestiltskin only laughed at those words.

“Unlikely,” he said. “You would not approve of the plan in the first place.”

Belle kept quiet. Though she appreciated his honesty on the matter, she did not like the idea that he would do things she would disapprove of. Then at the same time, she wondered if she had a right to forbid him to reunite with his son.

“How did it go with your father?” he asked, trying to steer her thoughts away from his own plans.

It worked.

“Great,” she replied honestly. “He was a bit stubborn at first, but after a while he actually started to listen. He now respects the choice I made to go with you as your caretaker, and also the choice to have everyone forget about me. I think the secret of my existence is safe with him.”

“Good,” he muttered. “At least you can be safe now.”

“Jefferson and Grace know me though,” she pointed out.

“Yes. Jefferson did not forget about you because he was still in Wonderland when we placed this curse, but even then, as long as he is here, he should not be a threat to us. He won’t betray our trust, not now that he’s got Grace.”

“You’re sure about that?” Belle asked a little warily.

“I’m a father, too. I know he will do everything to keep her safe. And in return, I will be good to them. They will have nothing to wish for as long as they are here.”

“Except for freedom,” Belle said with a sigh, and Rumplestiltskin suddenly wormed his way out from underneath her and sat up.

“Are you saying you disapprove of my methods?”

He seemed insulted, and Belle didn’t know what to say. She closed her eyes and groaned for a moment. She was tired.

“I don’t know,” she muttered. “But freedom is nice. They might like it here for a little while, but at some point they’ll probably want their own lives – and freedom to decide what to do with their time. It’s not fair to keep them here for all eternity.”

“Are you saying it’s not fair I’m keeping you here for all eternity?” he replied with a frown, annoyed by her remarks. “It’s not really about them, is it? You think it’s unfair you’re stuck with me forever!”

Belle sighed as she looked at him and shook her head. “Don’t put words into my mouth. I _love_ you. I choose to be with you forever. And I expect you to respect my wishes. But at this moment, I don’t feel as trapped here as I actually am. I hope you know that too.”

He kept quiet, not entirely believing her.

“Perhaps I should let you go,” he said suddenly, his voice a little rough. “It’s not fair to keep you locked up in here. I should not expect you to stay with me forever. I don’t know what dangers await me or you for that matter. At least if you leave the castle now, nobody will know your importance to me. You can go and live with your father again.”

Belle immediately sat up and wrapped her arms around him.

“Stop thinking like that,” she urged him. “I’m happy here. Happier than I’ve been for most of my life. Seeing the world sounds like a great thing to do – but I would rather do it with you than on my own. Don’t shut me out.”

As he looked at her and saw the honesty in her blue eyes, he felt his stomach squeeze together in agony. He had been too hard on her again. She wasn’t lying. She was consenting to her stay here.

“Sorry,” he said softly. “I still find it difficult to believe that anyone could want to be with me. Least of all forever.”

Belle wrapped her arms around his waist. “It won’t ever be _forever_ ,” Belle said. “My past is still mine. Your past is still yours. And I now find myself to like this life more than the one before. For the rest of my life doesn’t sound so bad to me… But it’s not forever… I haven’t known you for forever – just for a little while – and hopefully I will until the day I die.”

As he was starting to believe her again, he suddenly hugged her close, his arms wrapped so firmly around her that she hardly believed it to be real – though she did not hesitate to return the hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry for doubting you.”

“It’s in your nature,” she said softly in return.

As Belle fell asleep in his arms, he found that he could not keep his fingers still, and he looked for her golden lock of hair, soon spinning it between his fingers again. It relieved a bit of his anxiety as he tried to figure out how he could get his son out of Neverland – if he was still there.

When Grace eventually rang the bell, he was up in a second, waking Belle the moment he startled.

“What is it?” she muttered sleepily.

“I must get to Grace, she has rang the bell,” he explained, and Belle immediately sat up, even if her hair was still messy.

“Take me with you,” she said, reaching out her hand to him, her eyes still half-closed in sleep.

He did as she asked and whisked her with him to Grace’s room, where Belle immediately sat down on Grace’s bed, too tired to stand up. Jefferson also entered the room, his hair also messier than usual as he had just rolled out of bed.

“Did you go to Neverland?” Rumplestiltskin asked, kneeling down by Grace’s bedside, and the girl nodded eagerly.

“I was there,” she said. “I saw Baelfire. I told him you were looking for him.”

“And?” Rumplestiltskin asked urgently, a lump in his throat as he feared the reply.

“He cried,” Grace said a little sadly. “He thought you had given up on him by now.”

Rumplestiltskin gulped emotionally and a few tears came to his eyes.

“Did you tell him I did not?” he asked urgently, willing his own tears away, and Grace nodded.

“Of course! I told him we were looking for a way to save him. But he said that Peter Pan does not allow anyone to leave the island. Boats and rafts are immediately seized. He says he could use fairy dust to fly, but he wouldn’t get very far. Besides, he’d need to cross worlds, and he has no means to do that.”

Rumplestiltskin sat next to the bed, frowning as he looked at the sheets, trying to come up with a way to get his son out of there.

“Papa,” Grace suddenly said. “If I give Baelfire the hat, can’t he use it to come to this world?”

Jefferson startled, not liking the idea of giving anyone his hat.

“How are you going to give him a hat when you are asleep and that hat is still in this world?” Jefferson replied gently, sitting down on the other side of the bed.

They were all quiet for a few moments, until Belle said: “Well… It’s something worth looking into. But perhaps first… a little more sleep?”

Jefferson and Grace went back to bed, but Belle could see that Rumplestiltskin would not be comfortable sitting in bed while she slept. As they returned to the room, he paced in front of the windows, the curtains in front of them still closed. When he noticed, however, that Belle did not go to bed, but looked for something to wear for the day, he was surprised.

“You’re not going back to bed?”

She shook her head. “Not that I’m not tired, but we have other priorities for now. Let’s try and find a way to get Baelfire back to this world. I can go to sleep when Grace goes back to sleep tonight. Hopefully we’ll know more by then.”

Rumplestiltskin had been frowning in frustration before, but at those words a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he looked at her with a grateful expression.

“Do you think we can get him back?” he asked softly, and Belle chuckled.

“Of course! I have faith in us. And it’s not just us. Grace and Jefferson are helping too.”

“I’m not sure if he’ll be willing to part with his hat. It’s a family heirloom.”

Belle shrugged as she slipped into her dress and started tying up the laces of her bodice. “We’ll repay him in gold. Perhaps even give him a wing of the castle? He doesn’t seem to have a home to return to.”

“No, that’s true,” Rumplestiltskin agreed. “They were planning on looking for one. But if they don’t have one, they might as well stay here, even when Baelfire is back.”

Rumplestiltskin said that last part so softly, that Belle wondered what was on his mind. As he saw Belle’s curious gaze, he explained: “Baelfire never had friends… before he left. Because of me. It will be nice if he has Grace, at least.”

“Playing a matchmaker, are you?”

She grinned as she put on her shoes, then tied her hair back.

“What?” Rumplestiltskin gasped a little, apparently a little insulted by the suggestion. “I didn’t say that!”

Belle chuckled. “I’m not against it,” she sang playfully. “Grace is lovely. Such a sweet and brave girl.”

Rumplestiltskin smiled. “I can only imagine you must see a bit of yourself in her.”

Belle shyly averted her eyes. He was right. Grace wasn’t completely unlike herself.

 

They spent the largest part of the day in the library, and even Grace and Jefferson joined them to help in their research. As Belle watched Grace browse through books, she was indeed reminded of herself once more and smiled. Jefferson was browsing the books as well, but he didn’t seem particularly happy. The idea of separating with the hat was weighing on him, and Belle hoped it would not be the cause of an issue later on.

The first day went by, and they didn’t find anything at all. Rumplestiltskin told Grace to tell Baelfire that he loved him very much, and that they would look for a way to help him. As morning came, Grace let Rumplestiltskin know that she had passed on that message, but Rumplestiltskin was still disappointed. Belle knew why. Baelfire had not asked Grace to pass on any message at all to him, and she could guess that there was a bit of resentment on Baelfire’s side. She couldn’t even blame the boy. One could only imagine how horrible it had to have been to be stuck on an island for hundreds of years, without growing up, with no adults or books to guide you.

The second day didn’t go much better. Rumplestiltskin went out to make a deal with Maleficent, acquiring several books from her library – just to borrow – for which he paid her in several rare potions. Belle and Jefferson immediately went through the new books as fast as they could, still looking for more information about magic that could transcend realms and dreams. They didn’t have much luck.

Once more, Rumplestiltskin asked Grace to tell Baelfire that he should not give up and that they were looking for a way out for him, and that he was looking forward to for the day he could reunite with him. When Grace woke up again, she told them that Baelfire had requested they would save another friend of his as well – a former fairy named Tinkerbell.

Rumplestiltskin was reluctant – having despised fairies for most of his life – but gave in. He wanted to make amends to Baelfire, and if this was the way to do it, then he would. Besides, she was no longer a fairy – if that wasn’t a redeeming quality than he didn’t know what was.

It went on for days like that, with Rumplestiltskin borrowing books from all the wizards and witches he knew and Belle and Jefferson reading day in, day out. Rumplestiltskin’s supply of potions was running low, but by the twenty-first day, they found something in a book that had belonged to Merlin himself.

“So, it’s a charm?” Jefferson asked, frowning as he did not understand what Belle was explaining.

“Yes,” she replied in a serious tone. “A charm made of glass. It’s like you put a ship in a bottle. You put whatever you want to use in a glass encasing, then you use the potion and shrink it with magic, and then you carry it around your neck. It will link itself to the person carrying it, and if the person breaks it in any other world, even a dream world, then the item will spawn there and the spell on the item will be broken.”

Jefferson gulped. “So we’re going to make such a charm, put my hat in it, shrink it, let Grace wear it, and then have her break the charm, take out the big hat again, and then return with Baelfire?”

“We need essence of being for that,” Rumplestiltskin muttered. “For Baelfire and the fairy too. That will take a while to make.”

“I will help,” Belle insisted. “The potion to make the charm itself can be made simultaneously. They both require cold environments.”

“Grace needs to learn how to operate my hat,” Jefferson said. “I haven’t taught her yet.”

Rumplestiltskin looked up in alarm. If Jefferson was to ‘practice’ this, it would give him an opportunity to run away. Could he trust him? He had betrayed his trust before. But as he looked into the man’s eyes, he saw no deceit.

Jefferson knew what Rumplestiltskin was thinking, and put his hand on his chest as he said: “I swear that I’m not playing any games.”

The Dark One narrowed his eyes. “How can I be sure of that?”

Jefferson shrugged. “Because it hasn’t been bad, living here with Grace. We haven’t been hungry or cold, and Grace has been treated with the respect she deserves.”

Rumplestiltskin remained quiet as he looked at the man, sensing no lies.

“Then what incentive can I give you to make sure you will return? What would you like?”

Jefferson hardly needed time to think about it and replied: “A home for me and Grace. The promise that we won’t have to go hungry for a single day of our lives.”

Rumplestiltskin was quick to agree. “Deal. You may stay in the East Wing, or if you would prefer, you could stay in the little cottage by the stables on my domain. It is a tiny place, but it would give you more privacy than living within these walls.”

Jefferson narrowed his eyes, surprised by the Dark One’s offering. “You want us to live here? With you?”

“With me and Belle and Baelfire, yes,” Rumplestiltskin acknowledged honestly.

Jefferson was speechless for a moment, and Rumplestiltskin hastily added: “If you would prefer to live further away, that can be arranged as well.”

The imp didn’t look at Jefferson as he said that, and the Hatter had never felt so moved.

“No… It will do. At least for now. Maybe when Grace is older, we’ll have a desire to move. But we like it here. Both of us. If we live on your domain, then we will also have your protection?”

“Naturally,” Rumplestiltskin promised.

“Then we’ll stay!” Jefferson immediately said. “No doubt about it!”

Both men were pleased and Belle smiled as she had watched and listened to them. She knew that they cared for one another in some way, perhaps because they saw a bit of themselves in each other, and was glad to learn they would be neighbors. It would definitely break their solitude as well.

While Jefferson and Grace practiced portal jumping the next days, Belle helped Rumplestiltskin with the preparation of the potions. Together, they were able to make two flasks of Essence of Being, and they broke Rumplestiltskin’s old record this time, finishing it in less than nine hours. The charm required to shrink the hat and enchant it to travel along in dreams took only a few hours longer, and in the morning that followed, they finally shrunk the hat with two small flasks of Essence of Being tied around it and hung the glass charm around Grace’s neck, binding it to her.

The girl knew what to do, and though she was a little afraid of messing up a task so important, she was also incredibly brave.

Belle had told Rumplestiltskin that he needed to stop interrogating the girl, for whenever he did so he was making her doubt herself more, and luckily, he had listened.

“Good luck. I believe in you…” were the only words Rumplestiltskin said to Grace before she went to bed that evening, and the girl smiled because of it.

If the Dark One believed in her, then she could do it. Soon, she would help Baelfire reunite with his father, and the boy would finally be able to live a normal life again and to spend time with people that loved him.


	10. Chapter 10

Belle only slept a little bit that night. She woke constantly to see Rumplestiltskin pace in front of the bed, his fingers spinning against each other with such a speed that she wondered how the air didn’t turn into gold.

She tried to get all the sleep she could though, and woke from her half-slumber when Rumplestiltskin stopped in his step.

“It’s Jefferson!” he said anxiously. “He’s crying out my name.”

Belle quickly got up and grabbed a dressing gown, and Rumplestiltskin whisked them both to Jefferson the next moment, before she had a chance to put on the dressing gown.

Jefferson was in Grace’s bedroom, besides an empty bed, and Belle had never seen such panic in a man’s eyes.   
“Grace is gone!” he cried out. “She was here one moment, and the next, she vanished!”

Rumplestiltskin gulped. If Grace had left this world, then she was now fully in Neverland – or at least that was what Rumplestiltskin hoped.

He did not get a chance to calm down the hatter, for it only took a moment before he heard a voice coming from further down the hallway.

It was Grace again, and she cried out: “Papa! Papa!”

Jefferson left the door in an instant, and rushed towards his daughter, scooping her up in his arms the moment he reached her and hugging her close, only vaguely aware of the two other people that were with her.

Rumplestiltskin stopped in his steps as he saw his son standing behind Jefferson and Grace, looking around a little awkwardly, not sure what to say or do as he caught his father’s eye, then looking away nervously for a moment. But Rumplestiltskin could not be stopped. He ran over to Baelfire and threw his arms around his boy, tears streaming down his face as he hugged him close.

“Baelfire,” he croaked in an emotional voice, closing his eyes as he was unwilling to let go of his son.

The boy stood motionless for a few moments, but after a while, he finally wrapped his arms around his father in return.

“Dad,” he whispered, his voice breaking too.

Belle looked on a little nervously. Where it had been her and Rumplestiltskin before, she now once more felt a little bit like an outsider. She did not know this child yet, and perhaps he would despise her.

Jefferson and Grace seemed to be done hugging too, and turned their attentions on the reunion of Baelfire and Rumplestiltskin, until the woman with blonde hair who was dressed in dark green clothes approached them, the hat that had brought them into this world in her hands. She immediately caught Jefferson’s eye and offered him his hat.

“I believe this is yours?” she said warmly.

Jefferson seemed a little distracted as he looked at her, not immediately grabbing the hat while a half-smile curled up on his face.

“Th-thank you,” he replied gratefully. “Are you Tinkerbell?”

The former fairy nodded, and Jefferson bowed gracefully.

“Excuse me for doubting it, but Grace forgot to mention how beautiful you are.”

Both Belle and Grace simultaneously rolled their eyes as Jefferson pressed a kiss to the back of Tinkerbell’s hands, but it did seem to work. Perhaps they were both underestimating Jefferson’s charm, for the former fairy’s cheeks were burning up from excitement.

Rumplestiltskin still hadn’t let go of his son, and his cheeks were wet from tears as he said: “I’m so sorry, Bae, I’m so sorry… I didn’t know where you were… Forgive me…”

The teenage boy could only cry, regret and sadness making it hard to find the right words.

“I was so angry,” he finally admitted, and Rumplestiltskin tensed a little as he listened to his son. “So angry that you would choose all this crap over me!”

“I didn’t want to!” Rumplestiltskin replied weakly, regretting how his son wormed his way out of his arms. “I wanted you!”

“You could have travelled with me!” the boy said in a quiet voice, though there was rage inside of it. “You could have come with me to a world without magic!”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head, tears in his eyes. “I couldn’t have!”

“See!” Baelfire said, his anger only rising because of that reply.

“I should have!” Rumplestiltskin quickly said. “But I couldn’t!”

Baelfire didn’t know what to think of that, but he shook his head angrily and took a step back from his father. “Then you haven’t changed a bit!”

As Rumplestiltskin didn’t know what to say, Baelfire turned around and ran, running towards the main hall again, determined to put some distance between himself and his father, and everyone looked on without knowing what to say to make the situation any better for Rumplestiltskin.

Belle eventually realized that perhaps she could help, and she suddenly ran after Baelfire, hoping the boy wasn’t thinking of running away forever.

 

She found Baelfire sitting on the stairs in the great hall, and approached him cautiously. He was crying, but dried his tears the moment he spotted the young woman, and looked at her with a wary gaze in his eyes.

“You’re Belle,” he said. “Grace told me you lived with papa?”

She nodded. “I do.”

Baelfire looked around him, shaking his head. “When Grace told me you all lived with papa, I thought you lived in our old hovel. I could not imagine how so many people could live in that small space… But now – we landed in the gardens when we arrived – I saw this castle… What on earth is papa thinking? Why would he need so much space for himself – so many things! What is the use of having an army of suits of armor or a billion paintings and vases and all this crap?”

Baelfire seemed annoyed by the wealth he had spotted, and Belle carefully sat down next to him.

“I think he has tried to fill the emptiness in his heart this way,” she said softly. “Not to mention that he had another plan to get you from the Land Without Magic… There was a prophecy he heard, a prophecy with some sort of guidelines on how to get reunited with you. The prophecy did not speak of Neverland, or else I’m sure he would have come to get you straight away. It spoke of another future, one where you would be back in the Land Without Magic. He was preparing to fetch you from that place. For that, he probably required some hard-to-get-by objects. And so maybe this wealth was also a precaution, a way for him to be sure that he would get all he needed to find you again.”

Baelfire listened in silence and noticed the softness with which Belle spoke.

“You don’t hate him,” he said.

Belle chuckled and shook her head. “No, I don’t. I love him.”

Baelfire’s gaze softened as she said that. “But how? How can you love a monster like him? When I was still with him, he killed people on a daily basis, everyone who just looked at him the wrong way died! He couldn’t control his anger!”

Belle felt sorry for the boy. “He still has anger issues, but I don’t think he’s the same man he used to be when he first got cursed. He has learned to live with this curse – and though he is prone to anger, he tries not to act on it all the time anymore. Since I came here, he has not killed anyone – not to my knowing – though I do know he has gotten close on a few occasions. He’s trying his hardest to keep his heart from darkening further. He knows that if his heart darkens completely, the spinner will disappear, and all that will be left is the Dark One.”

“His heart is dark?” Baelfire repeated quietly, tears in his eyes.

“Because of the curse,” Belle said. “And because of the evil he has done as a result. He is trying to fight it, but it’s hard on him. Perhaps it will be easier with you here.”

“Or perhaps he’ll feel like killing everyone who lays a finger on me,” the boy said bitterly. “That was how it used to be. Everyone who so much as looked at me the wrong way, died.”

“He has changed,” Belle said softly, knowing in her heart that she was right about that. “It won’t be like that this time.”

They both startled a little when they heard someone come from the stairs behind them, and turned around to see Rumplestiltskin, a guilty expression on his face.

“How long have you been there?” Baelfire demanded to know.

“Long enough to hear most of what you’ve said,” he replied honestly, walking closer and sitting down on the stairs behind them, his hand on his heart before he pulled it out and showed it to Baelfire.

The boy gulped as he looked at it, but as it seemed that Rumplestiltskin offered it to him, he took it from his father’s hands.

“I’m trying to be better, son,” he said with tears in his eyes. “I want to be the father you deserve, but I’m cursed… I don’t know how I can be much better than I am right now. I’m trying to be good, but it’s so hard!”

As Rumplestiltskin cried, Baelfire suddenly brought the heart closer to his lips and pressed a kiss to it, and at that sensation, Rumplestiltskin gasped and it became clear for them all to see how a large dark spot suddenly disappeared.

Belle could not believe what she was seeing, and put her hand on Baelfire’s shoulder in encouragement.

Baelfire realized what he could do, and started placing as many kisses on the heart as he could, seeing the dark spots disappear one by one, and even continuing after that, until Rumplestiltskin suddenly fainted, nearly falling forward on top of Belle as they still sat on the stairs, and she turned to support him.

“Baelfire!” she suddenly cried out as a sign for him to stop, seeing how Rumplestiltskin’s scaly hand was turning human, and as she cradled his head, she suddenly realized he looked like a man, not like the Dark One anymore.

The boy looked on in complete surprise. “It worked!” he muttered. “It worked! He’s human again!”

He was, but he was also unconscious.

“Give him his heart back!” Belle said, and as she saw the hesitation, she took the heart Baelfire had healed, and pushed it back into his chest.

Rumplestiltskin gasped as he felt life return to his body, and looked at Belle and Baelfire in confusion. He could not remember the past minutes, and it was an eerie feeling for someone who had not slept in centuries.

“What happened?” he muttered, feeling so much lighter than he had in ages, and as he saw his own human hands, he gasped. “My magic!”

He snapped his fingers, trying to summon something towards him, but it didn’t work.

“It’s gone, papa,” Baelfire said softly.

Belle was curious how he would respond to that, and was not prepared when he started crying.

“But how will I protect you without magic?” he asked desperately. “How will I provide for you?”

Baelfire chuckled. “You have a castle full of treasure. Quite sure we could sell a bit.”

Belle continued: “And we have the gardens. We can grow whatever we like in them. Surviving won’t be an issue.”

“But my leg,” he said weakly, feeling the old pain return.

“It will be fine,” Baelfire said. “We will be fine.” The boy crawled up on the stairs until he was sitting next to his father and hugged him close, and Rumplestiltskin returned the hug immediately, kissing his son’s head.

“I love you,” Baelfire said as he squeezed his eyes shut, hardly able to believe that this was real.

“And I love you, son,” he replied as he closed his eyes too.

As Belle looked on, she was happy for the both of them, yet she could not help but feel a little sad as well, feeling like things might change now. Rumplestiltskin was a man again, not the Dark One, and who knew if he was going to feel the same attraction for her as he had before?

She had cast her eyes down as she had let the two men hug, only looking up when Rumplestiltskin called out her name.

“Belle… Now that I’m no longer the Dark One… If you wish to return to your father… I can’t get you there in a minute… I can no longer whisk us away… But if you wish to leave me, then… You’re free to go.”

Belle was the one who started crying now, fearing that he no longer felt anything for her now that the Dark One was gone.

“You don’t want me here anymore?” she sobbed quietly, and even Baelfire seemed a little alarmed at the sight of her tears.

Rumplestiltskin gulped, a little afraid to approach her.

“I’m not what you signed up for,” he replied as gently as he could. “I don’t expect you to stay with me now that I’m powerless.”

“To hell with that power!” Belle said fiercely, though she was still crying. “I love you! Why would I want to leave?”

She could see how that relieved Rumplestiltskin, and he asked carefully: “So you’re not mad that I’m no longer… the Dark One?”

She laughed through her tears. “Why on earth would I be mad that the curse is broken? You’re human now – and able to be a good man without a curse holding you back. I don’t want to miss this.”

Rumplestiltskin opened his arms, and Belle crawled up on the stairs as well, letting him hug her too as his other arm was still wrapped around Baelfire.

“I will try to be a better man,” he promised. “For both of you. You deserve it.”


	11. Epilogue

Rumplestiltskin had indeed tried to be a better man than ever before. But it had been hard for him – incredibly hard.

The first thing they had done – with Tinkerbell’s help – was to make more curses – to make sure the entire world forgot about Rumplestiltskin – so that they could live their life in peace. Jefferson wanted a curse for himself as well, because he too feared that enemies would find him and hurt them all – and without magic to stop them, they were easy targets. Tinkerbell also wished to enact the curse, because she feared she had enemies among the fairies, and so it was done.

So as the world now no longer knew of Belle, Jefferson, Tinkerbell and Rumplestiltskin, they were able to begin their new lives in peace.

The first month after the curse was broken, Rumplestiltskin slept more than anything else. He would sleep all night long, often until noon, and go back to bed when it was dark. It appeared that his body wanted to catch up for the sleep he had lost, but as time went by, he started to adjust to a more normal biorhythm again.

Not much time was needed to see that Tinkerbell and Jefferson were having a fling – but it soon developed into something deeper. Tinkerbell was incredibly protective about Grace, and Jefferson wasn’t blind to that either. Their feelings grew deeper by the day, and soon they shared the same bed – with Grace’s approval, for she absolutely loved the former fairy.

Belle and Rumplestiltskin still shared their bed with one another, but in the first months after the breaking of the curse, Rumplestiltskin kept his distance from her. A voice in his head still told him that Belle would leave him if he gave her time, but she didn’t. Even while he remained on his side of the bed, she always looked for his arm or a bit of skin to touch, not sleeping well without it.

At first, he always fell asleep within a minute, but once he no longer felt as tired all the time, he was able to stay awake long enough to feel Belle’s sweet kisses against his cheek and neck, and unable to resist the temptation, he finally gave in and kissed her back. Their kisses were perhaps even more passionate than before – though much gentler and sweeter in nature as well.

Their love-making no longer lasted so many hours in a row, but Belle honestly couldn’t say that she minded it. He was hotter than before – his human skin a wonderful sensation against her own – and she had to admit that she liked it better.

Belle voiced how terrified she had been that he’d lose his interest in her after the curse was broken, and as she had cried and voiced those fears, he had taken it upon himself to remind her every evening and every morning of how much he loved her – and how much he appreciated her staying with him.

She always told him the same, because he was just as insecure as she was in that regard, and they both needed to hear that someone wanted them.

Baelfire didn’t mind the fact that his father had found Belle in any way. In fact, he even respected her because she had been able to see the man in the monster before he had been able to. They got along just fine.

Money wasn’t an issue for the inhabitants of the Dark Castle. They sold a few suits of armor, and with its money they bought seeds and a few animals at the market. Rumplestiltskin took care of the sheep, sheering them and spinning wool, while Belle and Tinkerbell took care of the gardens. Jefferson and Baelfire learned to milk cows and churn milk – something that was a great source of amusement for the both of them as they had no idea what they were doing – but with the help of some useful books, they managed to figure it out after a while.

It didn’t take much more than over a year before the first addition to their little community was born – a boy named Terrence – the first son to Tinkerbell and Jefferson. Grace was a proud older sister, and often insisted that she’d take care of the child on her own while she tried to shoo Tinkerbell away. It never worked for long.

But also Belle and Rumplestiltskin had not been quiet. Only six months later, their first child was born – a girl they named Rose. Grace insisted that Terrence and Rose would marry when they grew up, linking their two families together, but those thoughts were abandoned about six years later, as Grace herself entered puberty and developed a massive crush on Baelfire, who had always liked Grace as more than just a friend. After all, the girl had saved him from Neverland and reunited him with his family – he could not have felt more gratitude towards her if he had tried.

Ten years after the nine-year-old girl had met the fourteen-year-old lost boy, they married as well, delighting all the dads and step-moms and their little brothers and sisters.

Life was good for all of those in the Dark Castle. Even the harsh winters did not bother them as much since they were warm enough inside the Castle. And when harvests weren’t as great as they had hoped, they merely sold another suit of armor to buy some extra provisions. They didn’t need to go hungry for a single day, and that was something that Rumplestiltskin was truly grateful for. He still remembered the horrible evenings when Baelfire had been a child and had complained about how hungry he had been before falling asleep.

Belle was no longer able to see her father, but did write to him every month, and when he gave up his lordship to none other than Sir Gaston, he took a carriage along with his faithful servant Mrs. Potts and they made their way to the Dark Castle, where they were given an entire hallway full of rooms to do with as they pleased. But as all the others, they preferred to spend the evenings in the Great Hall, where Rumplestiltskin liked to spin as he listened to Belle as she read everyone stories, while the children often played games by the table. Mrs. Potts delighted everyone with her baking skills, and old Maurice was able to thrill Rose and Terrence by telling them stories of the Ogre Wars.

There was no warmer or cozier place in the entire Enchanted Forest than the Dark Castle, and no couple felt more fortunate than Belle and Rumplestiltskin did. They most certainly lived happily ever after, no longer swallowed by darkness and fear, but supported by the love and light of their family.

 

**The end.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the wonderful comments to the fic! I had a blast writing it! I love RSS!  
> I also want to use the occasion to wish you all the best for 2016, the new year that is just around the corner here. ;-) Hopefully we'll get a lot of Rumbelle inspiration!


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